When the END comes
by DD42
Summary: He had always been there for her. In her darkest of moments, through thick and thin, he was her light, her anchor, her protector; her beloved friend. But now…now he has become her worst nightmare, and only she can help him. (END!Natsu/Lucy, Tartarus Arc)
1. Chapter 1: Awakening

_**When the E.N.D comes…**_

A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back! I know I'm behind on updating my other stories but my mind couldn't shake off the idea for this one and I had to put pen to paper for it! It was a spur of the moment idea that was brought on by the recent Fairy Tail chapters and all the E.N.D theories pertaining to Natsu that are out there at the moment…so I decided to throw my hat into the ring and give this a shot.

Yep, an END Natsu fic (partial spoilers for those of you not caught up with the manga!). Anything that goes on here is speculation and creative liberty on my part but I'm trying my best to work with the information and what the manga has provided so far. I may be a little late to the game with this type of plot but I decided to give it a shot regardless.

I don't expect this to be particularly long compared to what else I'm accustomed to working on; I'm thinking maybe three or four, possibly five or six chapters in length depending on where I go with this one.

But, I have fun when it comes to writing stuff like this so I digress…more or less.

For those of you who are not familiar with me, I welcome you and hope you enjoy the first of many chapters to come. For those of you who are familiar with me, I welcome you to another adventure into the Fairy Tail fan universe. As always, I hope you will give your honest opinion with your review and if you have any questions regarding this story feel free to ask it in your review which I will either reply to in the next chapter or respond to ASAP, or you can PM me; whatever works for you! Just please don't be too harsh with your criticisms…there's only so much a guy can take.

_**DISCLAIMER:**_ I do not own Fairy Tail; Hiro Mashima and Kodansha Comics USA own it. If I did own Fairy Tail…well let's just say some things would be different.

So without further ado *cracks neck and knuckles*, let's begin!

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DESCRIPTION: He had always been there for her. In her darkest of moments, through thick and thin, he was her light, her anchor, her protector; her beloved friend. But now…now he has become her worst nightmare.

XXXX

CHAPTER 1: Awakening

XXXX

She could feel it in the air as the deep chill suddenly made its way down her spine.

She could feel it in her bones, the deep confines of her heart and the pit of her stomach.

It was a feeling she got whenever something…wrong-no, bad-was about to happen. It was a natural instinct that foretold the coming of something… wicked. The cold had an edge to it…a sort of malice that couldn't be put into words. It was the malice one felt when darkness began to fall.

To Lucy Heartfilia, Fairy Tail's beloved Celestial Spirit Mage, "bad" didn't seem to be the proper word to befit the cold that slowly wound its way gripped her heart.

…Terrible.

Yes, that was the more appropriate word. Something terrible was about to happen.

And as her feet pounded on the rubble that littered the ground and the frantic beating of her heart thundered in her ears, Lucy had a frightened inkling as to what, or rather who, this terrible feeling was linked to.

"Natsu," Lucy said in between breathes, "hang on we're almost there!"

Lucy was not alone as she navigated the ruins of what had been the West side of Magnolia Town and the now decimated remainder of what had been Cube, the home base for the Dark Guild, Tartarus.

Her fellow mages and guild mates were right behind her every step of the way, moving at an equally frantic pace.

And still overhead, Acnologia and Igneel continued their battle in the air; the two legendary dragons trading blow for blow, hit for hit. Lucy still couldn't believe that after all this time, after so many years of searching for Igneel, Igneel had appeared from within Natsu. Natsu had been with his father this entire time and never once had suspected it.

Natsu.

Lucy's mind conjured up the image of her pink haired, best friend and the goofy but loveable grin of his.

Lucy bit her lip and pushed her legs to go faster, the events leading up to the current predicament playing over in her head.

XXXX

It had been only minutes earlier that they had gathered at the remains of their beloved guild hall, with the exception of the few who stayed behind to continue their battle with the leader of Tartarus; Mard Geer. The threat of the remaining 3,000 Face's activating was still a present factor but Master Makarov had managed to establish a telepathic link with everyone informing them that Face could be stopped but they had to act fast.

As the mages had gathered in the basement of the guild, which was surprisingly still intact, Master Makarov had unveiled the secret of Lumen Histoire; Fairy Tail's ultimate weapon…was the body of Fairy Tail's first guild master-Mavis Vermillion. Her body, still young as her spirit had portrayed on multiple occasions, was preserved behind a protective casing of lacrima. To Lucy's understanding, amidst the shock she had found herself in, if Mavis was awoken then the legendary tactician would undoubtedly figure out a way to stop Face from fully activating. So, as per Makarov's instructions, the mages concentrated their magic and sent it into the lacrima. The more energy they had added, the brighter the crystal had grown until in brilliantly shattered in a burst of light.

When the light had faded, Mavis stood-albeit on shaking legs-before her guild. Makarov had quickly draped a jacket over the young woman's shoulders as she came to her senses. Eyes opening to the sight of the mages, Mavis smiled her knowing smile.

"It seems my time has finally come," she said," things must be really bad if you've woken me up after all this time instead of calling on my spirit."

"Indeed," Makarov said, "our situation is dire number one. The Dark Guild Tartarus and its demons are in the process of activating the Face anti magic weapons system. We have managed to fight and defeat the majority of the demons but time is still running out. We're certain face is ready to fire and we need your help in stopping it."

"Have you dispatched someone to handle the activation sequence?" Mavis asked.

"You remember Erza Scarlet and Mirajane Strauss?" Makarov asked, receiving a nod from Mavis, "I sent them to handle the activation but it has been some time since I last heard from them. I think they are fighting whoever is guarding it."

Mavis frowned but nodded none the less.

"I see." She said, "And then there is still the leader of Tartarus himself that we need to worry about."

"E.N.D?" Levy spoke up, "But I thought all of the magic on the continent needed to be eliminated before he could be awoken."

Mavis shook her head, a grim look on her face.

"That will only allow him to awaken at full power. Given enough time, his seal can be broken and he can awaken at half the power he would normally wield. But even then, he will easily outmatch any of us and then some."

"What do we do then!?" Gajeel said, his tone frustrated, "We can't just let both happen at once; we're screwed sideways if we don't think of something quick!"

"Easy Gajeel," Mavis said, "we still have the advantage of time on our side. Face is our number one priority at the moment. E.N.D is still dormant, so we can deal with him in due course."

"What's our plan then?" Lucy asked, "How do we stop Face?"

Mavis opened her mouth to speak but stopped, her mouth instantly snapping shut as a sudden chill filled the air. Mavis's widening eyes darted forward, her head tilted up as if she could see something in the distance that the others couldn't. Her hands closed and shook along with the rest of her body.

"No…" Mavis whispered, her voice laced with horror, "How!? It…it…it shouldn't have become this strong so quickly."

"What's wrong?" Makarov said, "First Master, what's the matter?"

Mavis swallowed hard and her voice came out strained.

"E.N.D," Mavis said, "E.N.D has begun his awakening. He's found his host."

"What!?" The mages said in surprise.

"But didn't you just say-" Romeo had begun but was cut off.

"I know what I just said!" Mavis said, "And I was wrong…I miscalculated. We have to act fast and get to E.N.D before he can fully awaken."

"What do you mean host? Isn't he a demon like the others?" Lisanna asked.

"In name only." Mavis said, "E.N.D's physical body was destroyed long ago by Igneel the fire dragon king. But Igneel failed to destroy his spirit and Zeref sealed his strongest creation away until the time a new host could be found."

Mavis swallowed again.

"If the seal has been broken, then that means E.N.D is ready to return to the physical realm."

"But that doesn't explain why he has chosen now to do so." Levy said.

"…E.N.D is a fire demon, the most powerful that ever lived." Mavis said slowly, almost cautiously, "He is compatible with only someone of similar magic. Someone he believes he can bend to his will and influence."

Mavis took a long look at the mages, her eyes filled with worry and…fear.

"And that someone…I do not see him here."

"Wait, Romeo and Macao are with us and they specialize in fire magic." Bisca said, "The only other person that I know of who uses fire magic is…"

Bisca's words died on her lips as Mavis's words finally connected together in her head…along with the other mages. Her hands flew to her mouth, her skin starting to pale.

"Oh no." She whispered.

Lucy had also caught the meaning to Mavis's words and she had slowly turned around to face the way she had come; her eyes wide, frantic, and filled with disbelief.

"No…it can't be…"Lucy said.

Her heart began to pound rapidly in her chest and she felt the blood in her veins cool.

"Natsu." Lucy whispered.

XXXX

That had been then and Lucy's mind had since returned to the now.

She was part of a group Makarov had hastily organized to reach Natsu while another group stayed behind with him and Mavis as they focused on stopping Face.

It wasn't hard to know where they were going. They just had follow the chill.

As they made their way further into the ruins, the chill grew stronger as did the feeling of dread that continued to hover over Lucy like a shadow.

"Don't let it be _him_," Lucy whispered/begged to whatever deity was watching over her, "please don't let it be him; _don't let it be Natsu!_"

"I don't like this," Gajeel called out, still carrying Juvia on his back, "I don't like this one bit! Something doesn't feel right!"

"You're just noticing this?" Cana said, "What was your first clue; the sense of dread or the fact that Natsu is in danger of being possessed by one of those freakin' demons!?"

"Hey, I didn't expect it to be Salamander either but I'm just voicin' what my gut's telling me." Gajeel replied.

"Is Natsu going to be alright dad?" Romeo asked as he ran next to his father.

"I'm not sure of anything at this point." Macao replied, his tone grim.

"He'll be fine." Lucy called back to the others, her tone a desperate confidence, "This is Natsu we're talking about remember? And he won't let E.N.D get to him without a fight."

Lucy turned her attention back forwards as she leapt over a collapsed pillar.

"We'll get to him in time, you'll see."

"Lu-chan…" Levy whispered in concern.

The mages vaulted, slid and weaved their way across the rubble until they eventually made their back to a where Gray had rescued Gajeel, Levy, Natsu, Lucy and Juvia from Torafusa and Tempesta.

"This where we last saw Natsu," Levy said, "Right before he went after Igneel. After that, I think Igneel sent Natsu somewhere nearby. I remember watching Natsu hop off Igneel and charge someone or something."

"Then they still have to be close by." Lucy said.

"Aye," Gajeel said, "I can still smell Salamander around here."

The iron dragon slayer took a few cursory sniffs of the air and then nodded to the north.

"He went that way…but we should be careful. I can smell something else in the air and whatever it is, it ain't friendly."

"Considering what we've been through today, who isn't?" Laki said, "I mean, a bunch of demons wrecked our home and have been trying to kill us all day."

"That doesn't matter." Lucy said, "Stopping E.N.D and helping Natsu are our top priority at the moment."

She then began to head off in the direction Gajeel had indicated.

"We don't' have time to be standing around like this."

"Lu-chan wait up!" Levy said, going after her friend, "Don't' go running off like that!"

The assembled mages gave each other wary looks before pursuing.

After making their way through what appeared to be the remains of a large, gutted hallway, the mages found themselves traversing a relatively flat area, flanked by the ruins of walls that led to a ragged drop off in the floor. Something had collapsed here when the Celestial Spirit King delivered his devastating blow to Cube.

The dread and cold increased in dramatically and the mages knew that they were in the right spot; Natsu was just ahead, down in the depression.

Then, three figures suddenly stumbled past the rubble at the lip of the drop off. The new arrivals quickly saw the mages and began to frantically wave their hands in warning.

"Get back! Get back; it's not safe!" The one yelled.

It took the group a second to realize that it was none other than Gray Fullbuster shouting to them in warning. Following behind him, surprisingly, were Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney of the Sabertooth Guild. Rogue had Sting's arm slung over his shoulder, the two worse for wear but managed to keep up with Gray.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia called out in shock at the ice mages battered appearance as she struggled to climb down from Gajeel's back.

"Sting, Rogue!? What are you two doing here!?" Lucy said in equal shock and surprise as their counterparts stumbled up to the larger group.

"We came here," Rogue panted, "to find and bring Lady Minerva home to Sabertooth."

Sting grunted as he stood on his feet, a grim, pained smile on his lips.

"Easier said," Sting said before wincing, "than done…but that's not the issue right now."

"We have to get away from here, now!" Gray said as he looked frantically behind him.

"Gray what's wrong; what's happening?" Levy said addressing the ice mage who paused at her words, a look of desperation and fear, never leaving his features.

"Wait a minute," Lucy said, "if you're here, does that mean Natsu is here as well?"

Gray, Sting and Rogue froze at Natsu's name and their eyes widened in fear.

"What's wrong?" Lucy said, "Gray…what's wrong? Where's Natsu?"

A pained look befell Gray's features as he looked at his teammate.

"Lucy," Gray whispered, "I'm so sorry."

"…What?" Lucy said, her arms falling to her sides.

"I…I don't know what happened." Gray said, "We were going toe to toe with Mard Geer one moment and we were so close to taking him down. Then all of the sudden, as if he realized something, he pushed me back and knocked Natsu to the ground. He then summoned and opened that damned book of his. And then…then Natsu…he…"

Gray's tone died as he looked back the way he'd came.

"Natsu… he started convulsing, screaming in pain and then he just burst into fire. Mard Geer stepped off of him and stood back, letting the book fall to the ground…cackling like a maniac…"

"_At last,"_ Gray remembered Mard Geer's words as the transformed King of Tartarus gloated in what appeared to be absolute victory_, "my master awakens! You're too late humans, this is the end for you!"_

Lucy felt her body slowly start to go numb.

"Gray tried to help him but Mard Geer pushed him back. We were still weakened from our fight with Jiemma to be of any help. The flames around Natsu started to spread and we stood no chance of helping him." Sting said.

"Jiemma…"Levy said, "You're former guild master?"

"Aye," said Rogue, "he willingly became a demon of Tartarus…a salve so he could fulfill his obsession with power. But he isn't a problem anymore."

"…Gray…"Lucy said, "how…why did you just leave Natsu there?"

Gray still faced the depression. He could feel the dark energy building to something climactic and when it finally broke, he knew that nothing good would come of it.

"I'm sorry Lucy," Gray said, "There was nothing we could do. The demon backed us into a corner…we had no choice but to leave."

"N-Nastu…"Lucy whispered, before suddenly running forward only to be stopped by Gray.

"Lucy, don't!" Gray said as Lucy struggled against his grip.

"No!" Lucy said, "There's still time, we can still help him!"

Lucy refused to believe that what Mavis had predicted was coming to pass. She refused to believe that Natsu, of all people, would be turned into the vilest demon Zeref had created.

"Lucy stop, it's too late!" Gray protested, "We have to get out of here before they come after us!"

"No, I'm not leaving him!" Lucy protested, "I'm not leaving Natsu!"

Any further conversation was cut off when a scream of pure agony cut through the air from the depression. All present recognized the voice; it was Natsu's.

Suddenly, a beam of fire shot into the sky as the ground began to shake beneath the feet of the mages. The fire, which glowed a mixture of purple and black, dissipated clouds and darkened the sky with its supernatural glow. The shaking of the ground intensified to the point where it began to crack and splinter.

"We have to get out of here; now!" Sting said.

But, before so much as the mages could even twitch, the ground fell out beneath them, sliding back towards the depression and taking the surprised and screaming mages with it.

Tumbling through the rock, dust and debris, it all lasted a matter of seconds before the mages slid to a stop. At first nobody moved, but gradually they all came to their senses and pushed themselves up to their feet or hands and knees. A large but shallow smoking crater lay before the mages, the edge just barely reaching where they had landed.

"What…what was that?" Cana asked as Wakaba and Romeo helped her up.

An amused chuckle broke out from across the mages, snapping their attention forward.

There, sitting on what remained of a throne, was the literal personification of a demon.

"Mard Geer." Gray hissed as Juvia slid to his side.

"Welcome back human," the demon king, still in his true form said, unaffected by the events that had just transpired, "and here Mard Geer thought that you were trying to run away from him."

"That's Mard Geer?" Lucy asked in surprise.

"His true form, yes." Gray replied.

Mard Geer chuckled again and extended his arms out, despite wincing as he did so. Like Gray and the Twin Dragon Slayers, he had received a thorough beating from Natsu and Gray but was still managing better than they were.

"After all the fuss you've made, after all the suffering and the mounting odds against you, you humans still managed to fight…still managed to think you had a chance at stopping us."

A twisted grin formed on Mard Geer's now armored face.

"But it was all for naught. You've lost humans. You failed to stop Face from activating…and now you've failed to stop the return of our master."

Lucy suddenly remembered Natsu and stood on shaking feet, glaring at the demon king.

"Where is Natsu?" Lucy said, her tone scathing, "What have you done to him!?"

Mard Geer cackled this time.

"Natsu Dragneel is no more." Mard Geer said, "There is only E.N.D now."

"You're lying," Lucy said, "Natsu would never let himself be turned against his will like that!"

"…So naïve," Mard Geer said, "even in the face of the truth, you still can't see what is right in front of you."

The demon king stood from the throne and his hand snapped out to the smoking crater.

"It appears Mard Geer will have to open your eyes then, to make you see your failure for what it is. Master E.N.D; awaken!"

From within the crater, a shape began to stir. It took the mages minute to realize that whatever it was had been laying on its front on the ground and was now just slowly pushing itself up to its feet. It looked humanoid, but the outline of wings could been seen. Said wings, which had been tucked against the body, suddenly snapped out with enough force to clear the smoke from the crater with a powerful gust of wind.

And what was revealed caused the mages to become slack jawed and wide eyed as they slowly realized what…or rather who they were looking at.

"No…" Lucy whispered in fear, "…it's not possible…there's no way."

Tears began to brim in her eyes and Mard Geer openly laughed at her torment.

"Oh but it is. What you see before is Tartarus's true master, who after laying dormant for so long has returned to us."

"N-Natsu?" Lucy, her voice shaking.

Standing in the shallow crater, now on his feet, was Natsu…or rather, what used to be Natsu.

He was still tall, muscular and broad shouldered. His wild salmon pink hair still covered his head, but was now blackened at the tips and slightly hid his thick black outlined eyes, which were closed. His skin had changed from its healthy tanned peach to that of a dull red while a scale like pattern could be seen here and there. The skin still steamed from the overwhelming heat of the transformation. He was missing his shirt and wore a pair of pair of jet black slacks, supported by a leather belt with large buckle, which were tucked into a pair of black leather, high top tanker style boots.

From Natsu's head, from behind his now pointed ears, emerged a pair of dull black horns that curved and bent forward just stopping at his temples. His dragon like wings, which had sprung from his back, stood extended as if they were stretching from a long night's sleep. But what also stood out to the mages was the bone like armor that covered certain parts of his body, his heart, Guild Mark and his mouth…oh gods his mouth.

The armor, which had a brushed, black coloring to it, started with his hands and forearms. His fingers had become like the blades of knives, claw like in their appearance as the armor overlapped at the knuckles. The rest of the armor traveled up his forearms and stopped/passed his elbows forming blade shaped extensions. The armor also appeared on his collar bone, clavicle and shoulders, conforming to the shape of the muscle and bone. It also appeared in small cut outs that overlapped the length of his neck and spine.

The skin over his heart cracked around it like ragged fissures in rock while glowing menacingly like the magma lying beneath a volcano.

On his right shoulder, where the Fairy Tail emblem was once displayed with pride, now resided the Tartarus emblem which glowed a wicked shade of orange.

His jaw had, along with the lower half of his maxilla, become armored like his hands and arms, but instead of a mouth-which was once held Natsu's cheerful, trade mark grin-a maw of white, diamond shaped teeth took its place. The jaw was firm and the teeth set, as if the bone and enamel were locked together in place.

"G-Gray-s-sama," Juvia whispered as she raised her shaking hand, pointing at Natsu's left shoulder, "look."

The mages, who could only stare in disbelief, felt a new wave of fear overtake them. Tattooed in a staggered manner, were three simple letters: E.N.D

"No…" Lucy said as she began to shake her head before screaming in despair, "NO!"

E.N.D's body straightened and he inhaled through his nose, before exhaling deeply; a strange clicking noise emitting from deep within his chest and throat.

His eyes snapped open. Where there once had been vibrant green eyes, only soulless, glowing red remained. They lacked a pupil, only maintaining the glow, and the whites of the eyes had turned black.

After hundreds of years of lying dormant; E.N.D had finally returned to the world of the living.

"Master E.N.D," Mard Geer said as he bowed deeply, "welcome back. We missed you terribly."

E.N.D did not respond. He instead slowly blinked twice before equally slowly cracking his neck, toes and knuckles, which he popped on at a time. He then flexed his arms, shoulders, knees and back, emitting a similarly loud popping of bone and joints. The wings did the same, as if by their own volition.

Mard Geer looked at E.N.D in confusion as he cocked his head slightly.

"Master?" He asked perplexed.

E.N.D continued to ignore Mard Geer and the mages in front of him as he slowly looked at his surroundings before doing the same to his hands. He slowly turned his hands over before looking back to his palms, flexing his fingers.

He seemed…confused. As if he wasn't sure where he was or rather _who _he was.

And all the while, he still made that strange, confused chitter.

"Ah," Mard Geer said, his confusion gone, "Mard Geer understands now. E.N.D has been dormant for so long that needs time to acclimate his senses once again. A hindrance…but a manageable one none the less."

Lucy glared vehemently at Mard Geer as tears spilled from her eyes.

"Give him back." Lucy said through clenched teeth, "Give Natsu back to us!"

"Why in the world would Mard Geer ever want to do that?" the demon said in that mocking, overconfident tone of his.

"And from what can be seen, you are really in no position to be making such demands. None of you are? It's pathetic for you to demand such things from a demon like Mard Geer, especially in the presence of E.N.D. What you are looking for, hoping for, no longer exists…accept it for what is. Accept that you've lost…and perhaps Master will grant you a swift death."

"Natsu would never turn against us," Lucy protested, "even if you did turn him into what he is now, he still knows who we are; he still knows that were his nakama!"

"Lucy's right." Gray said, his voice firm, "Natsu is still in there, I can feel it. We haven't lost him yet."

He slowly rose to his feet with the help of Juvia as ice began to form on his hands.

"We'll break through to him…and take him back."

Mard Geer let out an annoyed sigh and pinched his brow as the mages found their footing and began to stand in defiance.

"Such annoying creatures you humans are. Even in defeat, you still think your bonds of camaraderie will save your friend from his fate…it's pathetic, it truly is."

Mard Geer lowered his hands, his eyes glaring at the mages and looked to E.N.D, who still remained silent, seemingly finished in his examination of his hands. He now kept his eyes closed, head bent slightly and arms at his sides.

"Mard Geer grows tired of this…this aggravating drabble. Don't you think it's time they were taught a lesson for their insolence, Master E.N.D?" Mard Geer said, a smirk playing on his armored features.

E.N.D straightened in his stance and his hands clenched into fists, making the knuckles pop. He then looked over his shoulder, past the joint of his left wing; his red eye squinting at Mard Geer.

"Mast-" Was all Mard Geer could say, his face twisted in confusion before turning to shock as E.N.D appeared before him in a blinding burst of speed.

With his right arm already cocked back, E.N.D delivered a devastating right cross that send Mard Geer flying off of his throne and into the rubble.

The mages could only watch with expressions that mirrored Mard Geer's as the demon master calmly walked over to where he had sent Mard Geer sprawling. The soft, confused chitter that E.N.D had been making was gone now and had been replaced with a deep, airy snarl-despite his jaw not moving an inch.

The demon king of Tartarus slowly pushed himself up from the ground and spat out a wad of blood and looked up to see E.N.D looming over him. E.N.D bent down and grabbed Mard Geer by the neck, lifting him up like it was the easiest thing in the world. His bladed fingers slowly dug into Mard Geer's armored skin, causing blood to leak from the cuts.

"M-Master!" Mard Geer gasped frantically as he held onto E.N.D's wrist with both hands, "What is the meaning of this!? What is the matter with you!?"

E.N.D pulled Mard Geer closer as his eyes narrowed. Another snarl rumbled from deep within his chest.

Then he spoke and Lucy heard herself gasp in shock, her hands moving to cover her mouth.

"Oh Mavis, his voice." Lucy whispered, the horror evident in her voice.

"**You're annoying me."** E.N.D growled, **"Quit pissin' me off."**

E.N.D's voice…it was horrible blend between Natsu's and something else. Something horrible and laden with malice.

E.N.D extended his arm, let Mard Geer drop from his grip while simultaneously delivering a fierce gut punch with his left hand, sending Mard Geer flying back a few hundred yards before crashing into the remnants of a dilapidated wall; which collapsed atop Mard Geer on impact.

E.N.D lowered his hands and flexed them, cracking the knuckles.

"Natsu…" Gray said aloud, "What the hell happened to you?"

E.N.D's head twitched at the sound of Gray's voice and he slowly turned to face the mages. His eyes, still narrowed, focused onto Gray.

"**Who the hell are you?"** E.N.D said, his voice low.

"Natsu," Gray said, cautiously, "it's me; Gray."

E.N.D cocked his head to the side, a slight growl emanating from his throat as he started to walk to the Fairy Tail mages.

"Don't you remember me?" Gray said, "Don't you remember us, your friends? We're you're nakama remember?"

E.N.D was quiet for a moment and arched a charcoal colored eye brow.

"…**Should I?"** E.N.D said, **"Because you sure as hell aren't ringing any bells."**

"W-what?" Lucy said, stepping forward slightly, "N-Natsu it's us!"

E.N.D blinked and focused his attention to Lucy, who shuddered under the red eyed gaze.

"…**Who the hell is this "Natsu" you keep babbling about?"**

The shocked and crestfallen look that quickly formed on Lucy's face spoke volumes. E.N.D was either undeterred or didn't care about the pain marring Lucy's face.

"**Last time I checked my name is E.N.D…I think." **E.N.D said, pinching his brow.

"Y-you think?" Levy asked and E.N.D shrugged.

"**Everything is just a blur to me."** E.N.D said, **"I don't remember anything. Just waking up and then feeling very annoyed by that schmuck I just nailed to the wall. And my name…well, I think it's my name."**

"What the hell is going on?" Gajeel whispered to Levy, "The hell is wrong with Salamander?"

"I have no idea." Levy answered honestly.

Refusing to believe that Natsu (she refused to call him E.N.D, let alone acknowledge that he was completely gone) Lucy made her way down from the landslide intent on reaching Natsu. Gray was quick to grab her shoulder, stopping her and making her face him.

"Lucy, no." Gray said, still leaning on Juvia for support.

"What do you mean "no"?" Lucy hissed.

"It's not safe," Gray said and then looked to E.N.D, his eyes hardening slightly, "_he's_ not safe."

"How can you say that?" Lucy said, "Gray, Natsu is in there somewhere and we have to help him. There's got to be a way to get through to him!"

"Juiva agrees." The water mage said, speaking up, "Juvia is sorry to admit it…but we can't let our guard down around that…thing."

"**You know, I can hear you little girl."** E.N.D hissed, making Juvia let out a surprised "Eeep!"

Lucy pulled away from Gray, defiance in her eyes as she turned back to E.N.D.

"Lu-chan, wait!" Levy said as she began to make her way down the rubble as Gajeel followed, cursing all the way.

"E.N.D or not," Lucy said, "He's still Natsu to me. And I'm going to help him with or without yours."

E.N.D had stopped walking by then, the moment he saw Lucy moving towards him, and was back in the center of the crater where he had appeared.

"_The hell is with her?"_ E.N.D thought as Lucy drew closer, slowly looking the mage over.

"_Hmmmm…"_ E.N.D thought, _"This one's an odd ball. She's cute, hell, not bad on the eyes even…but she's stubborn…defiant. The light radiates off of her…"_

E.N.D then saw the key chain attached to her belt. More importantly he saw the Celestial Spirit Keyes that glimmered in the light.

"_Those keys…they look…_familiar_…why?" _E.N.D internally mused.

Lucy was only a couple of feet from E.N.D-no, Natsu she corrected-when he held his right index finger in warning.

"**No."** E.N.D said, **"That's as far as you go."**

Lucy swallowed hard but held her ground, despite the urge to continue walking to him. She heard Levy and Gajeel's boots come to a stop somewhere behind her.

She locked eyes with E.N.D and she felt a chill run up her spine.

"_It's okay,"_ she reassured herself, "he hasn't attacked us yet...which means Natsu is in there somewhere holding him back."

Lucy slowly moved her right foot forward, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by E.N.D who let out a warning hiss.

"_He won't attack us."_ Lucy thought, _"He'd never hurt us…he'd never hurt _me_."_

"Natsu…" Lucy said, her voice gentle but possessing a determination to it.

"**You deaf or something girl? I said stop." **E.N.D said but Lucy continued to advance. She was no in arm's length.

"No." Lucy said.

E.N.D growled in warning and snapped his right arm out, hand curled into a fist as long, sword like blade extended out from the armor on his arm. Cracks began to appear along the length of the blade, much like the ones that surrounded his heart but glowed an even brighter. The same went for his eyes which now glowed a vibrant crimson.

He then swiftly swung the blade out, stopping just before the blade so much as touched the skin of her neck.

"Lucy!" Levy cried out and Gajeel stood poised to dive for Lucy.

Lucy froze in her tracks as her eyes instantly snapping to the blade, a small gasp escaping her lips. She could feel the heat radiating off the blade it was so close.

"_She's scared…but not scared enough. She didn't falter…didn't scream or run…who is this girl?" _E.N.D thought, his curiosity slowly being piqued.

"**Who are you?" **E.N.D said, voicing his thoughts.

Lucy swallowed and slowly raised her left hand to touch Natsu's curled one.

"Natsu…it's me…Lucy Heartfilia." Lucy said as her fingers made contact with his, noting how warm they were to the touch, "Can you remember me?"

E.N.D's eyes narrowed.

"**I already told you-"** E.N.D began but was cut off.

"Then _try_ to remember!" Lucy said, her hand now taking his and moving the blade away from her.

"I know you can…please, there has to be something you remember?" Lucy said, her tone pleading.

E.N.D regarded Lucy, focusing on her eyes. They stood out to him…for some reason.

_Morning Lucy! _A voice suddenly echoed out in his mind, almost out of nowhere.

"_The hell?"_ E.N.D thought.

_C'mon Lucy_, the voice said again, almost as it were complaining, _Happy and I want to go on a job today; why do you have to be so boring?_

The image of the woman in front of him flashed in his mind's eye. She was sitting at a table, apparently in the middle of reading a book and looking at _him_, pouting slightly.

_I am most certainly not boring!_ Lucy said back, her tone both annoyed and offended.

It was a memory, E.N.D realized. He had just seen a memory of this woman who knew him and insisted so with such conviction. He realized then that he knew her too…but then again, was it his memory or someone else's he was catching a glimpse of?

Lucy saw the glow in E.N.D's eyes soften and his brow furrow softly.

"_He's remembered something,"_ Lucy thought, her hope beginning to rise, _"I can feel it."_

Still holding his right hand with her left, Lucy brought her other hand over to hold Natsu's completely; uncurling his fingers as she did so.

"That's right Natsu," Lucy said, "think back…that's all you need to do."

A confused, low growl rumbled from E.N.D's chest…but died down as his eyes locked onto the pink, Fairy Tail emblem tattooed onto Lucy's right hand.

_Natsu!_ An image of Lucy appeared again. She was smiling brightly, right hand held up for him to see the new pink Fairy emblem that decorated her skin, _Look! I got the Fairy Tail mark tattooed!_

E.N.D raised his right hand and carefully touched his first two fingers to the tattoo.

"Do you remember this Natsu?" Lucy asked but he didn't answer, he was still focused on the mark, "I got this after I joined Fairy Tail remember? You convinced me to join Fairy Tail. You promised….you promised me that we'd be able to go on all kinds of adventures together."

Tears slowly began to fill her eyes and spill down her cheeks.

"Do you remember our promise Natsu?" Lucy said, her voice breaking slightly.

_Come on Lucy!_ He heard the voice say again…was that voice _his_ voice?

_Where are we going Natsu!?_ Lucy said as she was pulled along by the hand.

_On a mission, where else?!_ The voice said in amusement, making Lucy smile and laugh.

E.N.D looked up to Lucy, head slowly cocking to the side and eyes wide-filled with confusion. The kind of confusion one gets when they are on the verge of remembering something; something important.

E.N.D's jaw began to move, as if he was about to say something…but was cut off when a voice of pure anger cried out and a sharp pain exploded across his back.

"UNNACCEPTABLE!" The voice raged.

E.N.D's head snapped up, eyes wide as a black vine of thorns delivered another surprise attack to his back, causing the magma that coursed through his veins to shoot out and turn into burning lava. E.N.D stumbled to the left just as another vine lashed out…and struck Lucy.

Lucy cried out in pain as the vine slapped her away from E.N.D, blood spilling from the wound in her shoulder.

"Lucy!" Levy cried out in panic as she raced to her best friend's side.

Regaining his balance, E.N.D turned his attention immediately back to Lucy who lay on the ground, clutching her hand to her shoulder as she cried out in anguish. Levy and Gajeel were at her side in an instant and the other mages began to move from their spots on the landslide; Lucy's pained cry having snapped them from their viewing of her calming E.N.D.

E.N.D felt the wounds on his back instantly heal shut by cauterizing; he could smell his flesh burning but didn't care. He was too focused on Lucy.

Another memory was playing itself out.

Lucy, garbed in a black cloak, lay on a polished marble floor in a pool of blood. Her head had fallen to the side thus making the bangs of her hair cover her eyes. A single trickle of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth.

He remembered hot tears spilling down his cheeks. The disbelief, the sorrow and the pain at losing someone so special to him…to whoever these memories belonged to.

But most of all, he remembered the anger.

The anger towards anyone who would dare harm Lucy; to anyone who tried to take her away from him.

The anger filled his soul, made his heart glow like a raging fire and it filled his veins to the point where his skin began to steam.

He didn't care where the anger came from. It didn't matter.

The anger was his strength.

The anger was his power.

He openly embraced that anger and let it consume him.

His arm blade, still extended, rapidly began to drip lava before suddenly bursting into flames; the oxygen being sucked into it with a loud "FWOOSH!"

"UNNACEPTABLE!" The voice raged again and E.N.D stood, turning around to face the source.

"Filthy, disgusting human filth! How dare you try to corrupt Master E.N.D with your feeble emotions!?" Mard Geer raged, having dug himself out of the rubble his master had sent him into and immediately rushing back to the throne room. His vines flailed about him, mirroring his anger.

"**I thought I warned you to quit pissing me off?"** E.N.D said, his eyes having turned completely red and glowing brilliantly.

"Master, how could you let yourself be deceived by those disgusting creatures!? They are our enemy! You should be ripping them apart, not conversing with them!"

E.N.D hissed in warning.

"**You have me confused for someone else, can't you take a hint you insolent whelp?!" **

Mard Geer's eyes widened as his shoulders and hands trembled. And then all of the sudden…he calmed.

"It is clear to Mard Geer now that your memory still eludes you. It is clear to Mard Geer that those vile humans have tainted your already confused mind even further."

Mard Geer inhaled deeply before a wicked, demented smile formed on his lips.

"If master can't remember…than Mard Geer will make him remember!"

Mard Geer began to cackle, even as E.N.D took a combative stance and his wings flared out.

"Your true purpose shall be realized master! Mard Geer will rid you of those humans and give you your memory back!"

The vines calmed and began to aim for the both E.N.D and the Fairy Tail mages.

"**Go ahead and try."** E.N.D hissed as the first vines shot forth.

And in the back of his mind, a voice called out to him. It was quiet, barely noticeable, but he heard it regardless.

"_I'm all fired up!"_

XXXX

From a vantage point nearby, a young man sat on collapsed column as hid dark brown eyes watched the fighting ensue.

His short black hair drifted in the breeze as did the white toga and red and brown robes that covered his body.

From the eyes that watched the fighting with an almost disbelieving glee, tears slowly fell down the man's cheeks as a smile spread across his lips.

"At long last," the man said, his tone both of glee and relief, "after all this time, he has become strong enough."

The man stood as his eyes briefly flashed from brown to red…but the joy never left them.

"Natsu finally has the power to kill me. I can finally die."

In that moment in time, Zeref, creator and master of the demons of Tartarus, realized that the solace that had eluded him for four hundred years…was now so very close at hand.

And he would do anything to prevent it from slipping away.

XXXX

A/N: So, what do ya'll think? Am I off to a good start for a short story? Yes this was a bit on the short side of things but it is what it is.

I had wanted to post this earlier but having read the most recent FT chapter, I had to make some quick edits to the plot that I had in mind.

As I said everyone, this was a spur of the moment idea so I'm just making this up as I go along; creativity liberty and guesstimating at its finest! Also, don't expect a lot of chapters, just three or four at the least, five at the most. I'll update this when I can but I still have two of my other stories that are in need of an update so I want to wrangle those first before I try fitting this into what I already have going on.

Still, I hoped you enjoyed the first chapter, and don't worry, the whole memory loss thing will be explained next chapter; count on it!

Next time; CHAPTER 2: Melee

As per usual, if you guys have any comments or questions, please put it in your review and I'll make sure to respond to you in the next chapter. If you have anything else that you wish to ask me or clarify, you can PM me and I'll do my best to respond ASAP.

Until next time; read, review and most importantly of all, HAPPY READING!


	2. Chapter 2: Melee

A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back! My mind has been on fire with ideas for this latest chapter, and considering what happened in the two latest FT chapters, my creativity has been going into overdrive…basically; I HAD AN URGE TO WORK ON THIS WHILE MULTITASKING MY OTHER STUFF!

Plus, I was off from college for Thanksgiving break so that helped (I hope everyone here in the U.S. and our neighbors to the north had a wonderful and happy Turkey Day!).

Speaking of the latest FT chapters, as you are about to see, this chapter will draw inspiration from them and then some. I swear to God, something big is coming soon and I think Natsu is going to have an even bigger role to play than he already does. But then again, this is Fairy Tail we're talking about so one never truly knows.

I am very happy to see how much of a positive response this story has gotten; I honestly wasn't expecting that many reviews. Thank you to everyone who posted a review, I'm glad to know that I'm doing well with this story.

So, in this chapter, expect END!Natsu to be dealing with a slight personality disorder, END!Natsu losing his temper while "leveling up", an all-out slug fest with Mard Geer…and _four_ surprise visitors to the battlefield. This chapter will be longer than the previous one (44 pages overall!) so hold onto something; because an epic, double beat down is about to begin.

In all seriousness, I think out of all the things I've written so far, this is going to be the most epic piece yet.

Also, a scene in this chapter was inspired by a picture of END!Natsu and Lucy made by _rboz_ on Tumblr. She's an amazing artist, so all credit goes to her for the picture...which in turn inspired the scene. If you look around, you should be able to find it. For those of you who know what I'm talking about, you'll see what I mean when you read it. Once again credit goes to _rboz_ for the picture; I'm just writing what I was inspired to write.

But, before we continue, here is a shout out to you wonderful people who left seventeen (17!) wonderful reviews:

_**Amanda:**_ Hello there and welcome to the story! Yay, you were the first reviewer!

_**EclipticChaos:**_ Hello there and welcome to the story. No offense but I'm not sure how to respond to "…" but I'll take that as a good thing X).

_**dragonball256: **_Hello and welcome to the story! If you thought last time was epic, I wonder what you'll think of this chapter. I have a feeling Natsu is END. Despite it being somewhat obvious that he is, I would feel like if it were someone else, it would be a rather big smack to the face. Don't worry about Igneel, he'll be here soon enough, you'll see.

_**Gh0st's buddy:**_ Hello there and welcome; I'm glad you are enjoying everything so far. I'm a sap for details, what can I say? X)

_**Ichihime4:**_ Hello there! Long time no see, how are you?! I'm glad you like the story so far. O-oh my…that's an innuendo if I've ever seen one (lol!). If liked last time, then prepare yourself for what is coming in this chapter.

_**Zangetsu50:**_ Hello there! Welcome to the story; I'm glad you're enjoying it.

_**NyxFairy:**_ Hello there and welcome to the story; been a while hasn't it? Yes, things are pointing END in Natsu's direction.

_**Hoko-Ryuu:**_ Welcome to the story, glad you're liking it!

_**LpboyXIII:**_ Hello and welcome! Glad to know I'm on the right track!

_**CopDog:**_ Hello there! Glad to know you're enjoying this END Natsu story.

_**Fire girl 108:**_ Hello and welcome to the story, nice to know you're enjoying it!

_**Dark Shining Light:**_ Hello, glad to know you're enjoying the story! :)

_**WildHeart4ever:**_ Hello there and welcome back, long time no see! Glad to know you like the story. It'll be short but I'll work hard to make it worthwhile.

_**BigBadBen: **_Hello there and welcome to the story! That's quite the response there, I'm glad you're liking the story so far!

_**fairytailblossom:**_ Hi there, sorry for the late update, glad you're enjoying things so far.

_**xxTheNightmareBeforexx: **_Hello, I'm glad you're enjoying things so far; I hope this chapter is better than the last!

_**Wacko12: **_Hi there, long time no see; I'm well aware of the debate of what color Natsu's eyes are. I've heard that they're onyx and that they're dark green. Personally, I think they're green so until otherwise, I'm sticking with that; it is what it is.

So, now that that's taken care of, let's continue with the story!

XXXX

CHAPTER 2: Melee

XXXX

_**Then…**_

How it had started, he had no idea.

For the longest time-or what could be added up to the span of an eternity-he had known darkness. A cold, soulless, timeless, ageless and senseless void of nothing.

Just…nothing.

That is all that can describe darkness; a loneliness and an evil so powerful that nothing is felt.

He drifted in that darkness, his mind since lost; his memories mere broken, shattered fragments of what they used to be.

He would catch a faint whisper though every once in a while; an echo of a memory or name that filtered across his ears only to be forgotten moments later.

Natsu, one voice would whisper with an image of a blazing fire; the heat so tangible that when it went away he would cry out at the loss of the comfort the heat gave.

E.N.D, another voice would say with the memory of vast power, power unlike he had ever experienced, ready to be used with just a snap of his fingers. But then that too would disappear…and the emptiness would return. And in turn he would return back to the void where seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, day, night and seasons-where time itself, did not exist.

He remembers wondering which had passed first, an eon, millennia or eternity itself.

And it started. For what reason, out of the blue-or void as it were-he felt it.

The call to return.

He had been summoned.

And as his senses returned, so did his memories at long last.

He remembered his name.

"I am E.N.D." He said, finally finding his voice.

He remembered who he was.

"I am E.N.D, the greatest of Lord Zeref's creations. I am the ultimate incarnation of evil; my curses beget magic and the humans-the slime-who wield it."

But most of all, he remembered his purpose.

"I am E.N.D…and my one true goal is to return to Lord Zeref. I am to take his life and in turn, reshape the world the way it was meant to be."

As his senses returned, he could feel another presence-a magic that drew him like a moth to a flame. It was a familiar sensation of heat and fire.

His host…the one named Natsu.

Soon he could feel his power wrestle with his host; feeding off of his energies as he did so. Power, nourishment and strength returned.

The host's soul resisted.

He was making things complicated.

"Do not resist." E.N.D had commanded, "You are making this much harder than it should be."

"Never!" the host raged, "Get out of my head; I don't want you here!"

E.N.D sighed. He could see his host now as the curse took shape and form as fire-a fire which burned away the soul and consumed all that there was. His host was tall, with spikey pink hair and a soul of untapped power and potential. A strong but slightly dim witted human…perfect for E.N.D's needs.

But there was something about this human's magic. Something familiar-

"Ah," E.N.D had said in understanding, "you're magic…I thought it was familiar."

"You must be the son of that bastard lizard that tried to kill me all those years ago. Imagine that, the son of Igneel the fire king is to be my host!?"

E.N.D had laughed at that. It had been a long time since he laughed.

"Oh the irony! I can't wait to see the look on that overconfident son of a bitch's face when he realizes who now controls his son. I'll savor that memory…_as I rip his heart out_."

"No!" Nastu had protested, "You leave him alone; you leave my father alone!"

He could feel E.N.D's power overwhelming him. It was impossible to fight back against. The demon was too strong, even for him!

"And when I'm done with the lizard, I'll take my time slowly with those friends of yours. What? You didn't think I could see your memories? You are my body now boy which means I own you; you're my little bitch to control…and all you can do is watch."

"No!" Natsu had said as memories were forced before his eyes, the fire burning him…changing him.

"All you'll be able to do is watch as I slaughter your precious "nakama". Oh I'll take my time with this lot," E.N.D reaffirmed, "hmmm, let's see. I think I'll find Wendy-"

The memory of the sky dragon slayer flashed before his eyes; the girl he thought of as his quasi-little sister.

"-and I'll make you break her heart; both literally and figuratively. She'll realize with the utmost despair that you are as good as dead…right as you rip her heart from her chest."

E.N.D bombarded Natsu's mind of Wendy being put through such a horrible demise. Of her screaming for Natsu to stop but to no avail; her eyes wide and pouring tears as blood spilled from her mouth-her feet dangling helplessly off the ground.

"No!" Natsu screamed.

"And then there's Gray; your brother, your best friend. He seems so set on stopping me that I wonder how he'll react when he sees you. Hmmm? Let's ask him as I rip his arms out other their sockets!"

Another image. Another gore soaked montage.

"And who do we have here?" E.N.D said in sadistic glee.

"No…" Natsu pleaded as his body changed, the pain-both physically and emotionally-ripping his body asunder.

More images.

More names.

Happy, Erza, Asuka, Alzack and Bisca, Lisanna, Cana, Elfman, Master Makarov, Laxus, Mirajane, Sting, Rogue, Romeo…the list went on and on. With each name, E.N.D made their deaths more gruesome than the last.

All of his friends-all of the people he cared about-were in danger of dying by his hands when he had no control over them.

"NO!" Natsu had screamed, hands clawing at his head, "NO! NOOOOO!"

"It's over now boy; you're mine." E.N.D had sneered before pausing slightly, "And when all is said and done…I think I know who I'll save for last."

A series of images and memories appeared before Natsu's mind.

"No…" Natsu had pleaded, "oh God not _her_; please just leave her alone!"

"But why!?" E.N.D had cackled, "With a response like that, of course I'll save her for last!"

"She'll watch as everyone both she and you care about are slaughtered and torn limb from limb! And then she'll beg you for mercy, beg you to come back! But it'll be of no use."

Had E.N.D known what he was getting into, he would have realized that had just opened the proverbial Pandora's Box.

"She'll die like the rest of your pathetic kind." E.N.D had hissed.

Natsu's mind had stilled then…and E.N.D immediately sensed something was wrong with his host. The images of this Lucy girl began to appear in mass and despite Natsu struggling in pain on the outside, his mind had become a maelstrom of desperation, anger and…love?

"No." Natsu hissed, "No, no, no, no, no!"

"You stay away from her!" Natsu screamed, "I won't ever let you harm Lucy; I won't let you take her away from me!"

An energy and magic so powerful and bright began to overwhelm both E.N.D and Natsu, the memories fuelling the power on.

"I'LL NEVER TURN AGAINST LUCY!" Natsu ragged, "I WILL NEVER. HURT. _MY._ LUCY!"

The power had become overwhelming and for the fraction of a second, his control slipped.

It was then, that the light of the magic burst forward with blinding vigor.

"What the f-!?" was all E.N.D managed to say before everything changed.

XXXX

He had awoken, face first on the ground, his body aching and feeling as if it had just been lit on fire.

The whole situation sucked, to put it bluntly.

"Master E.N.D," A voice called out, "; awaken!"

Yeah…that sounded like a good idea. Pushing himself up and standing, he felt the joints in his knees crack and pop. And his spine, oh his spine was making noises that only a breaking tree branch should make!

"_Holy crap"_ he thought, "_I needed that!"_

Being asleep for who knows how long could really give one such a crick in the back.

He had stood with his eyes closed, trying to regain what currently passed as his senses. On a mental command, his wings shot out, inadvertently clearing the dust away from him as they stretched. He began to concentrate on his surroundings, as his he became attuned to his environment. Behind his eyelids, he could see that he was not alone as indicated by the flickering blue flames in front of him.

Souls, he remembered…human souls.

A presence behind him also tugged at his senses and the color red came to mind.

A demon…much like himself…he thought.

He heard voices from the humans but paid them no mind as he straightened his shoulders and deeply took his first breathe in what had been ages. He growled in pleasure, a gentle clicking noise at the taste of the fresh air. Although he did taste what appeared to be dust and ash in the world.

The one behind him continued to speak but he paid him no mind as he opened his eyes to take in the world around him…while also dealing with persistent aches in certain places.

Slowly blinking twice he dealt with the aches by equally slowly cracking his neck, toes and knuckles, which he popped on at a time. He then flexed his arms, shoulders, knees and back, emitting a similarly loud popping of bone and joints. The wings did the same, as per his command. Funny how those things worked.

He was once again drawn to the humans in front of him. Their voices…their scents…it was all familiar to him…but why?

He didn't know these humans…at least, he didn't think he knew them.

It was then that his attention was drawn to his hands, which were still raised from cracking his knuckles; armored but colored a brushed black. He could see that the skin that wasn't covered was a dull red and had a scale like pattern.

Had he always looked like this?

He couldn't remember.

As the humans and the demon squabbled, he tuned them out and dealt with his own personal problem; who was he?

He could remember his name; E.N.D. Or at least he thought that was his name.

Why was it so hard to remember something that was so simple?

"_Hey you!"_ A voice echoed in his head and he found himself in a different place.

It was dark but the spot he was standing at was illuminated by an overhead light… from somewhere.

"Down here." The voice said again. Complying, he looked down and found himself looking at a…child?

He had short, spikey pink hair and wore sandals, khaki cargo shorts and a red, long sleeved shirt. A scarf, similar to dragon's scales was wrapped around his neck. But most of all, he had the greenest eyes he had ever seen in a human-well…as far as he knew.

The boy smiled brightly, exposing his fanged canines.

"'Sup?" the boy said and he cocked an eyebrow.

"**Uhm…hello?"** He said, noting how strange his voice sounded, **"Who are you, how did you get here and where are we?"**

"My name is Natsu; Natsu Dragneel! I'm the strongest mage in Fairy Tail!" The boy, Natsu beamed, before his smile became smaller, tamer.

"Well…one day I'll be the strongest. To be honest; I'm you and you're me!"

"…**I find that very hard to believe kid." **He replied skeptically.

"It's true. As to where we are, we're in _our_ head. I didn't "get" here…I've always been here. We're the same person so it makes sense that we'd end up here."

"**Not really,"** he said, **"pardon me if I don't take you seriously squirt."**

"Oi, don't talk to yourself like that!" Natsu said, before shaking his head, "None of that matters anyway. I don't have long before the big bad guy comes back."

"**Who? And wait a minute how did this happen?" **He said, barely registering something else making itself known at the edge of his senses.

"E.N.D," Natsu said looking around, "he's a really bad and tough demon. I don't remember how this happened but I remembered him making me really angry when he threatened all of my friends…especially Lucy; no one hurts Lucy."

"**Who?"** he asked, a question directed at this E.N.D and Lucy, **"And isn't my name E.N.D as well?"**

"No time to explain," Natsu said, "let's just say you're Good E.N.D and he's Bad E.N.D. Bad E.N.D will be back and he'll try to make you do some really bad stuff. I'll stay here and hold him off. When you get back to the real world…try your hardest to remember who you are…who you were…and protect Lucy and the others too."

He was silent…but nodded in agreement after a pause. He didn't know why, but he felt like he could trust Natsu unlike the dark presence on the edge of his senses. As the world faded back to reality, he could hear the demon drone on and on in that haughty, over confident and arrogant manner of his.

It was annoying and it was starting to piss him off.

"Oh," Natsu said, calling back-his voice a faint echo, "and punch that guy really hard too. His name is Mard Geer, the Demon King of Tartarus; he's a big jerk who won't shut up!"

And then he was gone.

He stood, stock still and clenched his hands into fists, making the knuckles pop as he looked over his shoulder.

Yeah…making that guy shut up was sounding like a _really_ good idea.

XXXX

_**Now…**_

With a brutal right cross, Mard Geer was sent stumbling back as E.N.D continued his assault on the leader of Zeref's demons. He had easily cut and burned his way through Mard Geer's initial attack and countered with one of his own.

Turning into the punch, E.N.D delivered a follow up spin kick that hit directly into the center of the demon kings chest-sending him flying through the ruins of a brick wall.

E.N.D landed on his feet, knees bent and shook his hand. Even with the armor covering his arm, that punch had made his wrist go numb just for a second. This Mard Geer guy was turning out to be one tough son of a bitch after all.

While the demon king was down, E.N.D glanced over his shoulder back to the humans behind him. The one, a short blue haired girl-Levy, he thought he'd heard her name was-was tending to Lucy, who clutched her shoulder in pain.

"**Damn it,"** E.N.D whispered, **"I should've seen that coming."**

E.N.D's head quickly snapped forward when he felt an increase in dark magic, just as a number of thorn vines shot from the rubble.

"You're reflexes are slow Master," Mard Geer sneered as he emerged from the rubble, "even further proof that the humans were trying to corrupt you with their filth."

"_Look out!"_ Natsu cried out from within his head.

E.N.D's left hand snapped out, palm up and fingers splayed.

"**Fire curse!" **E.N.D yelled as a large fireball shot forth from his hand, incinerating the thorns it raced to.

Some thorns however, dodged the attack and impaled themselves on the ground, missing the mages only thanks to their quick reflexes.

E.N.D growled and slammed both his hands onto the ground, magma like cracks forming in his armored forearms and hands.

"**Volcanic crag!"** E.N.D said as the ground before him swiftly split open in a winding chasm that filled with magma and reached Mard Geer.

The demon king simply took to the sky but E.N.D was prepared for this as he drew his right hand into a fist and punched the ground.

"**Erupt!"** He said and the magma flared and exploded out in a tremendous but concentrated geyser of lava.

The attack had reached Mard Geer just as he was halfway off the ground and engulfed him in the burning liquid rock. Bits of molten slag rained down on E.N.D but he simply raised his one wing to shield him. He growled slightly.

"**That was too easy."** He said, eyes narrowing.

From within the geyser, Mard Geer came flying out like a bat out of hell. He skin was smoking but he was wide eyed and smiling in amusement. He was upon E.N.D in the blink of an eye and had slammed his palm into E.N.D's face and forced his head into the ground, dragging him along as Mard Geer rapidly flew over the ground.

"**Yep!"** E.N.D said, his voice muffled but not sounding the least affected by the attack, **"Too easy!"**

Mard Geer glided for a moment before slamming his foot down to the ground, sliding low with E.N.D still in his grip. Grabbing his master by the jaw, Mard Geer lifted E.N.D up singly handedly while he was inverted and slammed him head first back into the ground in a move similar to that of a pile driver. E.N.D's back and legs arched down at a weird angle and his arms flopped to the sides, his wings flat against the ground.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out in panic only to be held back by Levy.

"No Lu-chan, stay put!" Levy said, "You're still hurt!"

"But I have to help Natsu!" Lucy protested.

"Relax," Gajeel said as he observed E.N.D's condition, "I don't think Salamander's going down that easily."

"**Of course you realize,"** E.N.D said, his voice muffled from beneath the stone, **"**_**this means war**_**."**

He tapped his foot to the ground and a black spike fired forth from the ground in front at Mard Geer at high velocity, striking him in the shoulder and taking him off his feet. Back flipping into the attack, Mard Geer slid to a halt right side up and looked at the projectile lodged in his shoulder; the wound leaking blood.

"It's been a long time since Mard Geer has seen his own blood." Mard Geer mused as he ripped out the spike and tossed it away.

E.N.D had since used his wings to push and pull himself up to his feet as he turned to face the demon king. His neck and head were bent to the side at a broken angle. Had E.N.D been anyone else, he would have died from his neck snapping like a twig.

"**Get used to it."** E.N.D said as he popped the joints back in place with a sickening series of crunches.

"**Because there will be a lot more where that came from."**

The two regarded each other for a moment as Mard Geer's eyes narrowed.

"Tell me Master, why are you holding onto bonds which should have been broken with your awakening?"

E.N.D did not reply, he simply raised an eye brow in question.

"You are the master of all of Lord Zeref's demons; in fact you are the strongest demon born form Lord Zeref himself. But in spite of all of this, you still hold onto the past…you let it cloud your memory, judgment and vision. You defend those filthy humans when you and Mard Geer should be eradicating them as we speak for defying our might and power. After all that has been done to return you, why do you forsake your own destiny?"

E.N.D inhaled deeply and cocked his head slightly to the side.

"**I have no memory of what you speak."** E.N.D said, before pointing to the Fairy Tail Mage's, **"I am not who you want me to be…and the way you're describing me, I refuse to let myself become it."**

E.N.D ignored the mental cheer of Natsu in his head while the other presence, which was now making itself known, growled in anger.

"**I can't explain why I feel the way I do towards those humans. But I feel that there is something there…something familiar about them that is helping maintain my grip on myself. Until I figure out what that is, I will not harm them and I will most certainly not allow you to do the same."**

Mard Geer glowered at his master. Why was he refusing to accept his destiny? Why was he choosing the humans over his own kind!? Those disgusting life forms that didn't deserve to walk the same ground as him and E.N.D, let alone live in the same world. But most of all; how did those humans still have such a strong hold over his master!?

It was a sickening and ludicrous idea which only served to deepen his glower. If that was the case, Mard Geer decided, then he was just going to have to do what he had been saying all along; kill the humans. In the most brutal way imaginable. Only then would E.N.D be free, he reasoned.

His eyes flickered to the mages and then back to his master, a smirk playing out on his lips.

E.N.D caught the movement of Mard Geer's eyes and lips and he instantly went on edge.

"**Don't you even dare."** E.N.D warned.

Mard Geer chuckled in that arrogant manner of his that grated on E.N.D's nerves.

"Sorry Master…but you really should learn to worry more about yourself than others."

It happened to quickly for E.N.D to react. So distracted had he been with Mard Geer, he had failed to notice the vine with razor sharp thorns decorating it slowly snake its way near him. With the speed and precision of a viper, the vice snapped up and severed E.N.D's right arm from his shoulder, making him cry out in surprise, anger and pain.

Lava spurted out from the wound as the arm sailed into the air before tumbling to the ground. The lava singed and burned the ground as E.N.D clamped his free hand over the wound while letting off a string of profanity laced curses.

"NATSU!" Lucy cried out in panic and only then did Mard Geer smirk in delight.

His plan had worked. Master E.N.D was crippled and vulnerable to his combination attack.

From within the ground, vines of thorns sprouted to ensnare E.N.D and immobilize him. The vines lifted him up into the air just high enough for the ground beneath him to crumble as a Mard Geer's Prison Flower returned.

The bulb of chains and thorns opened and began to slowly engulf E.N.D.

"Hang on Natsu!" Gray called out as he summoned his ice sword-ready to channel his demon slayer magic, "We're on our way!"

The ice mage and his fellow mages made to charge Mard Geer but the demon king had been expecting this.

"Gullible fools." He said and cast out his hand, causing more vines to appear from within the ground.

"Nice try!" Gray said as he cut a series of vines in two, "But that attack only works so many times!"

"Yeah!" Lisanna said, still in her cat animal soul form as she used her claws to cut the vines, "It'll take more than these overgrown plants to stop us!"

Then the vines suddenly stilled in their attacks, pausing midair. Only then did the mages notice something…eerie.

Mard Geer was laughing. He was laughing in what appeared to be absolute amusement.

"What's so funny freak." Gajeel hissed.

Stifling his laughter, Mard Geer looked down upon the mages, his demented smile never leaving his face.

"Mard Geer cannot believe how utterly stupid you humans are!" He said, "You humans are so stupid that it actually amuses me! You walked right into a trap and didn't even know it!"

The vines began to twitch and suddenly, tendrils of sharper, smaller vines burst from within the parent vines. They shot out with blinding speed to the mages.

"Weak!" Mard Geer said.

The Fairy mages once again resumed their attacks but found that even when they cut the vines down, more would take their place. It was like macabre version of a hydra from ancient legend.

"Pathetic!" Mard Geer cried out in delight, "How absolutely pathetic."

The first mage to be ensnared was Lisanna. She had just swiped her paw when a series of tendrils quickly wrapped around her wrist and snapped her arm out to side, causing her to stumble. The other vines followed in rapid succession. Soon her left wrist was caught along with her ankles. Her limbs were pulled out to the point where she began to cry out from the pain. She felt like she was slowly on the verge of being pulled apart. More vines followed and continued to snake up and around her arms, legs, midriff, chest and throat; the thorns squeezing her and making her bleed while also choking the life out of her.

One by one, the Fairy Mages found themselves in a similar predicament. It was a valiant fight but a futile one as they were all lifted into the air for Mard Geer and E.N.D to see.

Mard Geer looked to E.N.D who continued to struggle within his prison, the bulb nearly close to sealing itself shut.

"As much as Mard Geer wants you watch their last moments, I'm afraid the flower won't allow that."

E.N.D snarled and fiercely tugged against the thorns and chains of the flower.

"But you can listen however." Mard Geer sneered, "You can listen to their final moments. Listen to their screams. Listen as the last shreds of doubt are purged from you."

The bulb closed shut with a mucous like "slurp" and E.N.D was sealed away.

"You'll thank Mard Geer for this, when you have regained your senses." The demon said before turning to the mages, raising his hand and slowly closing fingers to his palm.

"Now humans," Mard Geer sneered, "please do us all a favor and _die_."

As per the demons command, the vines began to tighten, cut and pull. The mages would slowly be ripped limb from limb, powerless to stop their own deaths.

Cries of pain and protest managed to escape the mages mouths.

Gajeel struggled to grab Levy's hand but found her to be out of reach despite the tips of their fingers brushing.

Juvia frantically called out for Gray as a series of vines dug into his open wounds, making him cry out in agony.

"NATSU!" Lucy screamed, "NATSU; HELP US!"

The vines tightened around her neck but still she cried out to Natsu/E.N.D.

"N-NATSU!" she screamed, "H-HELP M-ME!"

A single vine slithered up her arm before digging itself into her shoulder wound while the vines constricted around her throat. Lucy began to gasp in panic and pain, her mouth agape, eyes widening and streaming with tears.

"There'll be none of that from you." Mard Geer said, "You're "Natsu" no longer exists; he is dead…and soon you shall be joining him."

"N-Natsu…" Lucy rasped weakly as her struggling began to slow; her limbs starting to slacken.

The other mages began to do the same.

"N-N-Natsu…" Lucy choked out, her vision blurring and fading, "N-Na…Na…Nat…su…"

Her eyes slowly began to roll up into her head and only then did Lucy realize that she was about to die; that Natsu wasn't going to get to her in time. That he wasn't going to save her or the others.

And the worst part wasn't the fact that she was about to die, it was that she wasn't able to help Natsu…to bring him back to the light.

…Suddenly, the Prison Flower began to convulse and thrash about as if in the throes of death agony.

"WHAT?!" Mard Geer yelled, his head snapping to the flower.

The bulb trembled and shook as it began to expand outward, a ripping sound emanating from the inside.

And then it violently exploded.

In a shower of chunks and slime, the bulb violently burst apart…courtesy of E.N.D's wings which were now flared and fanned out. The demon then fell to the ground in a heap of slime and torn thorns.

"Impossible!" Mard Geer said in alarm, his eyes wide, "You were fully locked away!"

Slowly, E.N.D rose to his feet and the thorns slid off his body.

The slime that coated him from head to toe began to sizzle, pop and steam as it quickly evaporated off of his body. The air shimmered from the heat radiating off of E.N.D as the glow of his heart increased in tandem with the heat. His head lowered, E.N.D moved his right side in the general direction he had lost his arm. From within the still lava-bleeding wound, a black ichor burst forth and shot out to the severed limb; promptly grabbing it and returning just as swiftly to the shoulder. The arm, now back in place, was fused back to E.N.D's body in brief puff of steam.

Trembling hands balled into fists, the knuckles cracking, as E.N.D raised his head.

His expression said it all: he wasn't angry, he was most definitely not livid and he sure as hell wasn't pissed. He was furious, plain and simple.

His eyes now completely glowed a vibrant shade of crimson as cracks broke out in the skin around the edges of his eyes; which glowed an equal fiery red.

His jaw, which had remained shut since his awakening, slowly began to open with a series of audible cracks; a loud and angered hiss emanating from the slowly opening maw.

"_**I..,"**_ E.N.D growled in fury, _**"I am one hundred and ten percent done with your bullshit!"**_

E.N.D's left hand snapped up in the direction of the trapped mages, fingers curled in a claw like fashion. The air around the vines began to shimmer from a sudden wave of extreme heat and a hissing sound like the boiling of water could be heard. Then, suddenly, the vines burst into flames and quickly withered away to ash; releasing the mages and letting them fall to the ground.

They were gasping desperately for air and covered in sweat from the sudden heat, but were otherwise alright; the fire having caused them no harm.

Mard Geer looked from the mages to E.N.D in disbelief. E.N.D too had been looking to the mages, more importantly Lucy who slowly began to push herself up from the ground. She felt E.N.D's gaze on her and she looked up to find him looking at her.

"Natsu…" she whispered, her voice hoarse as she rubbed her neck. Her eyes, which had been wide and stricken in pain, now shimmered with hope and joy.

"_Nice save!"_ Natsu called out from within his mind.

_Disgusting,_ the Other voice hissed, _you should have left them to die._

"_Oh shut up already."_ Natsu said, annoyed at the other E.N.D's return.

_How dare you talk to me like that,_ the Other hissed, _watch it boy or I'll make you suffer for your insolence._

"_Go ahead and try."_ Natsu retorted.

E.N.D didn't reply to either voice, he simply turned his eyes towards Mard Geer, his maw opening slightly in a growl. Without warning, he bolted towards the demon king, using his wings to give him an extra burst of speed. Mard Geer had no time to react as E.N.D dropped his left foot down, cratering the rubble and bringing his right fist forward in a devastating straight punch.

Mard Geer was sent careening back, end over end before tumbling to a stop. E.N.D inhaled deeply as his heart glowed even fiercer than it already was and E.N.D raised his head back.

"**Incineration Blast!" **E.N.D hissed.

Stomping his foot forward, arms curled at his sides, E.N.D flung his head forward-mouth open-as a fierce jet of fire erupted out with a tremendous roar of air.

The mages could only watch and compare the attack to that of a dragon breathing fire…which for all intents and purposes was what the attack was.

The jet of fire was right on target when it hit E.N.D, causing both him and the area he landed in to explode in terrific blast of fire. Mard Geer himself was blasted out of the flames, his body smoking and partially on fire as he tumbled and rolled on the ground.

The edges of E.N.D's maw curled up slightly in what could be seen as a satisfied grin. He closed the maw, which was still smoking, and locked it back in place. E.N.D rose and cracked his neck; Mard Geer was obviously down for the count…but E.N.D wanted to make sure he stayed down…permanently.

Walking over to Mard Geer, E.N.D looked over to his shoulder; locking eyes with Gray.

"**Stay put,"** he said, **"this won't take long."**

"R-right." Gray said, still in shock over the previous bout of attacks.

"_Holy shit,"_ he thought, _"so this is the power of the Master of Tartarus…unbelievable…unbelievable."_

The rubble crunched beneath his boots as E.N.D calmly walked over to Mard Geer, who had since doused the fire that had coated him. He stood on shaking legs while his body had reverted back to its "human" appearance.

"**Well…well…well," **E.N.D taunted, coming to a stop a few yards away**, "so this is what you look like. You know, I find it ironic that for you proclaiming to be the king of demons…you're surprisingly **_**human**_**."**

Mard Geer, who had a fine trickle of blood running down the corner of his mouth and was covered in a multitude of cuts and bruises, felt his eyes widen in shock.

"W-what?" Mard Geer said in shock, "What did you just say?"

"**You heard me."** E.N.D continued, his tone similar to the mocking tone Mard Geer had been using before, **"You bleed like a human, you get angry like a human…and you even share their arrogance. Face it; for all your talk of being an all-powerful demon…you're more human than you let on."**

"Master…" E.N.D hissed as his body began to twitch slightly in anger, "how…how could you…how dare you insinuate such a thing! I, Mard Geer, am a demon of Zeref; a far superior being compared to such wretched filth as those lowly humans!"

"**That's not the case from my point of view."** E.N.D said, his eye brow raised skeptically.

"Don't patronize me Master!" Mard Geer snapped, "I, who carried out Lord Zeref's will while you were gone! I, who brought the true meaning of fear and suffering to those humans! I, who have worked tirelessly to facilitate your resurrection!"

Mard Geer's body quaked in fury.

"How dare you compare me to the likes of a human when I have shown them the inferiority of their resistance; the inferiority of their species!"

His hand snapped out to point at E.N.D

"And if I, Mard Geer-the Demon King of Tartarus-must destroy you in the process to make you realize it; then so be it!"

A black mist suddenly materialized out of the air surrounding E.N.D but also made its way to the Fairy Tail mages.

"Oh shit," Gray said aloud, "not again!"

"What is that?!" Cana said with Lisanna's arm slung over her shoulder, "Some sort of mist?!"

"No," Gray said, "something much worse, we have to get out of here; now!"

"You're not going anywhere." Mard Geer hissed, "You're going to stay right there and disappear; out of sight and out of mind."

Gray made to run but found the mist had quickly surrounded him and the others.

"Gray-sama…" Juvia said as she moved closer to Gray…but found that she couldn't.

"What!?" Juvia said in surprise, "I-I can't move!"

E.N.D also tried to face the mages but found his body locked in place. His eyes flickered to Mard Geer, a glare on his features.

"**What are you doing?"** E.N.D hissed.

Mard Geer smiled his demented, wide eyed smile.

"Mard Geer is casting a curse that he had originally created to destroy Lord Zeref. But seeing as how you survived it the first time Mard Geer casted this, Mard Geer has no doubt you will survive again. But, this curse will erase all traces of humanity from you…as well as those humans. It is a curse that will not kill you nor keep you alive but merely erase you…for all eternity. You will cease to exist."

"**What?"** E.N.D said.

"The curse will awaken you while erasing those meddlesome humans…you will be completely free. You will be reborn in the fires of destruction…and all shall be made right. All shall return to the way it was meant to be." Mard Geer continued and the mist seemed to engulf the mages and E.N.D.

"Through death, there shall be rebirth…" Mard Geer said, focusing his dark magic, hand raised.

Knowing he had to act fast, E.N.D began to fight the pull of the mist, twisting his head, and torso to turn around while struggling to raise his left arm. His body screamed in protest; the bones on the verge from snapping from the strain.

But he ignored the pain.

He knew on some level, he would survive this attack…but the mages wouldn't. They weren't as strong as he was.

"**Fire…Shield."** E.N.D said through a strained voice.

A ring of fire swiftly formed a perimeter around the mages, cutting the mist off and freeing them just as Mard Geer finished his curse.

"…_Memento Mori."_ Mard Geer said.

"NO!" Gray called out, watching E.N.D through the fire, "NATSU!"

And then, in a blast of dark energy, a beam of dark ethereal spirits exploded out from the ground and engulfed E.N.D. The ground shattered and flew apart and the mages tried to shield themselves as the blast wave caused the fire shield to waver and die.

XXXX

Inside the dark beam, a different scene was unfolding within E.N.D's mind.

E.N.D could feel the energies of the attack work their way across his body; trying to pull him apart…trying to make him disappear. He resisted the curse, focusing his own power against it and felt some success against the curse: the feeling of his arms disintegrating wasn't as noticeable.

He knew, however, that he couldn't hold out forever. He had to do something…but what?

"Hang on!" He heard Natsu call out to him in his mind, "Just hang in there, you can do this; we can do this!"

"**I'm not so sure about that,"** E.N.D said his voice strained and winced, feeling a sharp pain spread through his abdomen, **"I can't keep this up forever."**

_You're right,_ the voice of the Other sneered, _once you're power breaks you're as good as dead._

The other chuckled in amusement.

_But I can be of some assistance. I can give you the power to not only survive this curse but to put Mard Geer down._

"Don't listen to him!" Natsu called out, "You can't trust him!"

_And what reason would you have not to?_ The other asked, _Mard Geer may be one of my demons, but he is trying to destroy you with this spell…he is in turn trying to destroy me without realizing it. That is unacceptable._

"**So you'll help me by turning against the loudmouth,"** E.N.D said, **"but who's to say you won't do the same to me?!"**

_You have no alternative,_ the Other said wickedly, _C'mon, embrace a little darkness. It'll do you wonders if you just open your mind a little to me._

"Don't listen to him," Natsu pleaded, "You can't trust him."

E.N.D was quiet for a moment.

"…**Do it."** His said finally.

The other began to chuckle in a menacing manner and he could sense Natsu's shock.

"**I'm sorry Natsu, but I have no choice,"** E.N.D said, **"…but don't worry. I won't let him get his claws into me."**

_We'll see about that_, the Other said as he began to channel his power to E.N.D.

_We'll see about that._

From deep within, E.N.D felt a new power course through his veins. It was intoxicating and overwhelming…it took everything he had to remain focused and not let the dark magic consume him. Focusing on his new power, he let it radiate out against the curse that had enveloped him.

He let the darkness…fight against the darkness.

…Overall, the entire exchange had lasted no more than a few seconds.

XXXX

The curse of Memento Mori fired off into the sky, the dark energies circling about it. The mages of Fairy Tail could only watch as E.N.D had been engulfed in the attack; seemingly disappearing.

"No," Gray whispered, "not again…not again."

"Natsu." Lucy said, tears brimming in her eyes while holding her hands up at her mouth.

A light began to flicker within the maelstrom, like the soft glow of a burning ember from a great fire. It flickered once…twice…thrice…before it blasted the curse apart in a tremendous ball of fire. The fire tore the curse apart in a beam of its own which roared high into the sky, causing the clouds to disperse and the sky to brighten if only for a moment.

The flames dispersed as falling embers, like that of a gentle snowfall, filled the area around the large crater that had been created in the ground. It was a perfect circle and steam radiated out from within. From their positions, the mages could see that the inside of the crater had been turned to glass which still glowed dully and hissed from the heat that had created it.

And kneeling on one knee in the center…was E.N.D.

"So Mard Geer was right," The demon king said as he walked up to the edge of crater, "you were powerful enough to survive."

He cocked his head slightly, an intrigued smile on his lips.

"And it appears your true form has returned as well."

Slowly rising from his crouch, the mages quickly saw what Mard Geer was observing about E.N.D.

His musculature seemed to have increased but not to the point where it was over the top. His hair was still salmon colored but was a slightly darker shade than it had been earlier with the blackened tips of his hair being more pronounced. His eyes were open this time and were still outlined in black, along with his eyebrows, but instead of the whites being black in color, the eyes simply glowed a fierce and penetrating crimson.

His skin was still its dark shade of red and still maintained its scale like pattern, but his horns had elongated, now reaching out past his temples by a few extra inches.

The armor now lacked it's brushed, black coloring and now sported an obsidian sheen to it. The armor was still on hands, forearms, collar bone, clavicle, shoulders, neck and spine, but was sleeker; more streamlined to the muscle underneath. But along with the existing armor, new additions had appeared on his ribs, forming a menacing cage like design around his chest. The jet black slacks which adorned his legs were baggier and had armored tasset's attached to left and right side of his heavy belt and were woven to the sides of his thighs. Armor similar to that which covered his arms also adorned his legs which now covered his knees, shins and upper half of his boots.

His heart still burned through his skin like a raging volcano.

The "E.N.D" tattoo and Tartarus emblem still remained in place on his shoulders but now overlaid the armor like a hologram.

The armor and maw which had covered his jaw and mouth were gone now. The face that everyone recognized had returned but his mouth was set in a firm line but the tips of his sharpened canines poked out from underneath his lips.

Two simple, bar like tattoo's lined his cheek bones and ran down the sides of cheeks in a reverse "L" shaped design, stopping at the edge of his jaw. His wings which were flared and stretched out, were still dragon like in form but were now colored a shade darker than the night itself. The wings lowered and then slowly moved to wrap around E.N.D's shoulders and cover his front and sides, similar in manner of that to a cape.

E.N.D briefly looked over his new appearance by flicking his eyes down and then back up to Mard Geer. The two starred each other down for what seemed to be an eternity. Mard Geer's smile had diminished with each passing minute and his eyes had narrowed in turn.

And then the corner of E.N.D's mouth quirked into a smile…just as his maw and armored jaw returned to form around his face in a series of rapidly forming pixels.

"**Time to end this petty fight of ours Mard Geer; once and for all."** E.N.D growled and dashed forward, charging Mard Geer as his wings unwrapped.

"NO!" Mard Geer cried out in shock.

Memento Mori was meant to reawaken his Master. He had expected his true form to return, but not for E.N.D to maintain his defiance. Without time to return to his true form, Mard Geer casted forth a series of vines in an attempt to hold off E.N.D.

E.N.D made no attempt to avoid the attack, instead taking it head on. The vines ripped into him and much to Mard Geer's surprise, E.N.D burst apart in a series of embers. The embers seemingly had a mind of their own as they rapidly circled behind Mard Geer and reformed E.N.D's right arm with equal speed.

It had happened in the blink of an eye-too quick for Mard Geer to respond-and just as he realized what was happening, the arm created a long double edged blade like the one that had been created earlier. With a swift but powerful thrust, the blade plunged into Mard Geer's back and exploded forth from out his chest in a geyser of blood.

XXXX

As if the violent contact had bridged a mental link between the demons, E.N.D found himself in an unfamiliar environment as he saw a menagerie of images pass his eyes. The destruction of the magic council, the killing of the former magic council members and the plans for FACE.

FACE…

Gasping in shock, E.N.D felt as if he had been sucker punched as the memory came to bare.

"**I-I remember…"** E.N.D said, his breathe hoarse in surprise, **"I remember FACE."**

"Yeah!" Natsu chimed in joy that his other half had finally remembered something but his tone quickly became grim, "It's really bad news! If it activates, it will destroy all of the magic in Fiore!"

E.N.D paused as he processed this newest development. What in the hell were these demons thinking, using such a weapon?!

Another series of images flashed before E.N.D…but they appeared as if streaming in real time; which E.N.D quickly realized they were. A timer was seen, the numbers falling rapidly, through the eyes of a dying demon.

"_Kyouka…"_ Mard Geer said, his voice echoing weekly over the shared mindscape.

"_Fear not…"_ the new, female demon said, _"Magic will disappear from this world."_

"Oh no!" Natsu said in panic, "FACE is going to activate!"

The timer continued to dwindle down rapidly; 00:60.

"**Then let's stop it!" **E.N.D growled and closed his eyes in concentration. He channeled his power and used his curse magic to quickly reach out into the mindscape, searching for any memory on FACE and how it worked.

00:50

_Why do you persist in defending the humans!?_ The Other questioned, _There is not enough time to stop the weapon from firing; leave them to their fate!_

E.N.D furrowed his brow, continuing his search at an unhuman pace.

00:40

_Accept the facts boy!_ The Other raged, _You are out of time; magic will be purged from this wretched world and just like those humans, you are powerless to stop it from happening!_

"_**No. I'm. Not."**_ E.N.D said before letting out a cry of triumph!

At last he had found it; a memory detailing how face operated!

00:30

E.N.D's eyes snapped open and he quickly swiped his hand before him; a yellow hologram appearing before him and changing from light to a crystal like material. It was the controls for FACE; he now had direct access to the weapon via the mental link.

00:25

"Time's almost up; hurry!" Natsu panicked.

E.N.D's eyes rapidly scanned the controls. There wasn't enough time to launch a full shut down, however, he could stop FACE from activating if he disabled the Fire Control system.

00:15

E.N.D's hands were a blur as they raced over the holograms, trying every manner of code or combination that he had dredged up from Mard Geer's memories on how to stop FACE.

00:10

None of the codes were working; the weapon was too close to firing to be completely shut down!

00:05

"NO!" Natsu cried out.

_Yes_, the other hissed in sadistic glee.

00:04

For E.N.D, time seemed to crawl to snail's pace as he watched the numbers on the counter slowly change. There was no way to stop FACE in the conventional way…there just wasn't enough time. But just as quickly, _a very unconventional_ though burned its way into his mind.

00:03

He formed his hand into a fist, focusing all of his strength into the appendage.

00:02

He snapped his hand back and plunged it forward with a mighty cry-

00:01

-and E.N.D's hand smashed through the fire control system, splintering it into hundreds of pieces just as the counter reached 00:00 and was followed by FACE: ON.

E.N.D came to a stop and all was quiet. He held his breathe, not daring to move or make a noise.

A minute passed by…then another…and another.

"Uhm…did it work?" Natsu finally spoke up, his voice hesitant.

E.N.D slowly righted himself and looked around the mindscape. Using Mard Geer's eyes, E.N.D got a peak into the outside world. Everything was the way he left it.

Mard Geer was still impaled on his arm blade.

The mages were still standing.

Nothing had happened.

A new hologram appeared before E.N.D and he let out an explosive sigh of relief.

FACE: ON…WANING: FIRE CONTROL HAS BEEN DISABLED, FACE HAS NOW ENTERED STANDBY STATUS

"…Y-you did it." Natsu said in disbelief, but E.N.D could sense the grin forming on the child's face, "Y-you did it…YOU DID IT!"

The other hissed and roared in fury but E.N.D paid him no mind; something that was getting easier to do.

"**Yeah…I did it. FACE is still active but unless it can be fired another way…I don't imagine it will be a problem any time soon."**

Natsu laughed in glee and E.N.D rolled his eyes in a good natured manner.

"**C'mon…let's head back."**

XXXX

With the braking of FACE's fire control, the mental link instantly broke from the two demon lords.

The whole event had lasted more than a few seconds on the outside world…but it had dragged on in the mental realm.

Regardless of the fact, FACE had been stopped. It was still active yes, but it would be unable to fire for the time being.

The plan concocted by the fearsome Demons of Tartarus had been foiled; by their own master no less.

Stunned by the sudden turn of events-both his impalement and the stopping FACE- Mard Geer felt his body begin to shake as he looked at the blade sticking out of his chest. The arm began to lift Mard Geer off his feet as the demon king coughed up a long stream of blood. The embers continued to reform E.N.D's body until he was once again whole. The demon silently regard Mard Geer, ignoring the blood the slid down his arm blade and dripped off his knuckles.

Mard Geer coughed violently and slowly looked over his shoulder, his eyes wide and confused.

"M-Master..." Mard Geer whispered, "W-Why?"

E.N.D narrowed his eyes and moved closer to his fellow demon.

"**I'm not you're master." **E.N.D growled, **"And I never will be. Your plan failed Mard Geer…and now you will never harm anyone ever again."**

And with those words E.N.D twisted his arm and ripped the blade free from Mard Geer, letting him fall to his knees before E.N.D placed his boot on his back and kicked him down to the ground. Mard Geer's body twitched once and then twice before he stilled, head on its side and eyes still wide. E.N.D exhaled deeply and closed his eyes, heating his arm so that the blood on it evaporated as the blade retracted back into the limb.

"**Good riddance you son of a bitch."** E.N.D said as he opened his eyes and let his wings form back around him like a cape.

He silently regarded demon as the breeze rustled his hair and wings.

"_I…I wish you didn't have to do that."_ He heard Natsu, _"I don't like the idea of killing someone."_

_**It is what it is, **_E.N.D thought, _**he needed to die, and there is no other way of looking at it. If he didn't, FACE would have activated and a whole new kind of hell would have befallen us.**_

"_Yeah but…"_ Natsu protested but E.N.D shook his head.

_**Let it go,**_ he said, _**he's dead now and the mages are safe…your friends are safe.**_

"…_They're _your_ friends too."_ Natsu said after a pause, _"They're_ our _friends. We saved them together."_

_**If only I could remember them.**_ E.N.D thought before looking to the mages, who watched him wide and cautious eyes.

The blond girl, Lucy, was shaking slightly, eyes brimming with tears and hand clutching her chest. But most of all, it was her expression that bothered him the most. It was a mixture of fear, shock and sorrow. And in the deep recesses of his burning heart, it pained E.N.D to see that expression on her pretty face.

But for what reason, he did not know.

_You're getting soft, thinking like that,_ the Other hissed, _you should've let them die. You're better off without them…_we're _better off without them._

_**Piss off.**_ E.N.D shot back with a mental reply, walking back to the mages.

He stopped when he got close to them, observing the assembled humans in front of him. They were battered, bruised, bloodied but otherwise were okay.

"**You guys alright?" **E.N.D asked, breaking the silence.

"…Yeah." Gray answered hesitantly, "We're…we're fine. Thanks to you."

E.N.D nodded and lowered his eyes.

"**Mard Geer was in the process of activating a weapon called FACE right as I got to him."** E.N.D said, shocking the mages.

"Oh no!" Levy said as her hands flew to cover her mouth.

"Damn it, the others must've been too late!" Cana said, running her hands through her hair in agitation.

"Mommy…Daddy," Asuka Connell said as she looked up to her parents, clutching Alzack's leg, "I'm scared."

"…Wait…what do you mean by "in the process?"" Juiva asked, cocking her head slightly.

"**I was able to stop FACE from firing by digging into Mard Geer's head."** E.N.D said as he made eye contact with Gray, shocking the mages into a stunned silence.

"You…you what!?" Gray said in disbelief.

"**I stopped FACE from firing, just as I said. I was unable to stop it from activating, but I destroyed the fire control system and in turn put it into standby status. It can still be fired but unless there is another way of doing so, I don't see that happening any time soon. You have time to figure out how to completely disable it. You guys really dodged the bullet on this one; consider yourselves lucky."**

The stunned silence lasted for only a heartbeat before the mages let out a series of overjoyed cries and relieved sighs. Many of the mages present hugged one another with the exception of Alzack, Bisca and Asuka. The gunslinger pulled his wife into a passionate kiss, before kissing Asuka on her forehead multiple times and then finally wrapping his arms around his wife and daughter in an equally passionate hug.

Sting and Rogue fist bumped with their good hands and let relieved smiles form on their faces.

With tears streaming from her eyes, Levy grabbed Gajeel by his cheeks and pulled him down into a kiss…a kiss which the iron dragon slayer returned with equal fervor. Neither one cared if anyone saw them.

Juvia threw her arms around Gray and the ice mage winced in pain. He did return her embrace however and slowly pulled back just enough to kiss her on her lips. E.N.D swore the water mage turned every imaginable shade of red and was certain she would have fainted had it not been for Gray's steadying hand.

Gray fully pulled back but kept one arm wrapped around Juvia's shoulder, holding her close-not that she minded-as he faced E.N.D.

"Thank you," Gray said, "Just…thank you."

"…**Don't mention it."** E.N.D replied with a shrug of his shoulders, **"My ass was on the line too you know."**

Gray chuckled.

"So how much time was left?" Gray asked and E.N.D averted his eyes, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so.

"**You're better off not knowing." **E.N.D said making both Gray and Juiva blanch in fear.

"That bad eh?" Gray said nervously.

"**Aye."** E.N.D replied and returned his gaze to the mages.

He could sense the relief and joy emanating from them…these familiar humans.

_Familiar_; there was that word again. It tugged at the threads of his memory but at the same time, it was something that seemed far out of reach.

E.N.D sighed and shook his head.

_**One problem at a time. **_He thought to himself.

Letting his eyes drift away from the mages, he slowly let them drift around in search of Lucy.

Soon enough, brown met crimson and the two held each other's gazes. Neither one spoke but E.N.D easily sensed the new tension in the air; it was different from the last time they had gotten close. E.N.D's gaze flickered to the still bleeding wound in Lucy's shoulder and the edges of his maw turned down in what was tad amount to a deep frown.

Carefully walking over to Lucy, E.N.D looked down upon the celestial sprit mage, noting the difference in their height. He then slowly raised his arm from beneath his wing with equal care, revealing the tips of his index and middle fingers to be a glowing red.

Lucy's eyes snapped to the glowing appendages in fear. He could sense her apprehension. After all, he had just run the exact same hand through Mard Geer minutes earlier. She had seen the damage he could inflict.

"**Don't be afraid."** E.N.D said, **"Look at me…please."**

Lucy slowly complied and saw that E.N.D's maw had faded away for the time being. The glow of his eyes had dimmed and his mouth was set in a gentle smile…well, the best that he could manage. It was Natsu's face…the face she could always count on to brighten her day.

"**I'm not going to hurt you."** E.N.D spoke, his voice a clearer blend between Natsu's and the demon that possessed his body. It was gentle, however, something that seemed out of place and character for one capable of such destruction.

With those words, E.N.D pressed his fingers to the wound in her shoulder and Lucy gasped, not in pain but surprise. His fingers weren't scorching hot as she had thought warm…like a heated compress. Slight wisps of steam radiated off the wound and when E.N.D pulled his fingers back, Lucy saw that the wound was sealed shut…with no evidence that it had ever been there. There was no scarring or burn mark; the torn flesh had been healed completely.

"Natsu." Lucy whispered as she looked to E.N.D, who had lowered his eyes as he returned his hand to his side.

Slowly, Lucy reached her hand up and cupped E.N.D's cheek, startling the rouge demon. He looked to the human with those wide eyes of his and Lucy realized how strange such a gentle gesture must feel to him…how strange _her_ touch felt.

How strange contact with a human in general must have felt.

"_He really has forgotten me."_ Lucy thought in dismay as tears silently fell down her cheeks. Lucy bit her lip as she tried to stem the flow of her tears but it was of no use.

"Natsu," Lucy croaked, "why did it have to be you…why did you have to change?"

E.N.D kept his eyes lowered, unwilling to look at Lucy. Once again, an unknown feeling made him shy away from the sight of seeing her in pain. He wanted to comfort her…to lift her spirits…but he didn't know how or why.

"_I hate it when she's sad,"_ He heard Natsu say glumly, _"I don't like it when she's sad. I like it most when she smiles…when she's not sad…when she's not in pain."_

"Why'd you have to change?" Lucy repeated, her voice breaking slightly, "You keep turning into something else before our eyes and there's nothing I can do to help you."

E.N.D locked eyes with her tear stained ones and couldn't utter a response. He didn't know what to say…how could he know what to say?

"I…I just want you back," Lucy sobbed, her pain finally spilling forth with her tears, "I just want you back Natsu."

It quickly became apparent to all those present, excluding E.N.D however, that there was an even more daunting challenge presenting itself; how to turn Natsu back to normal.

For the second time that day, E.N.D's mouth began open as if he were about to say something important to Lucy. He wanted to say her name…to say, "Lucy." He felt that if he did so, he would find a way to comfort her; this familiar girl before him, who filled the memories in the very back of his mind.

But it wasn't meant to be.

For once again, E.N.D was stopped in his musings as a feeling akin to liquid mercury running down his spine suddenly rocked his senses; a warning he had no doubt.

E.N.D snapped his head up in the direction the sensation was pointing him to and saw just in time a shape tumbling out of a cluster of clouds. His enhanced vision instantly discerned the object and his maw quickly reappeared around his mouth.

He then uttered one single word, **"Dragon."**

"What?" Lucy said only for E.N.D to step away from her and flare his wings out.

"**Brace for impact."** E.N.D said, right as the sound of what appeared to be a pained cry reached the ears of the mages before the ground shook beneath their feet.

About a hundred yards to the right of the group, a large plume of dust was rising into the air. It was obvious that something had crash landed there and that something was alive; given the pained groans and explicatives that were leaving its mouth. The dust quickly settled and revealed a dragon laying on its side, covered in a multitude of bleeding cuts and gashes.

A red dragon…a familiar dragon.

"Igneel!" Lucy gasped in horror.

"_Dad!"_ Natsu cried out, _"No!"_

_**Dad!? **_E.N.D thought in confusion and surprise_._

Igneel the fire king slowly pushed himself up onto his legs, his claws digging into the ruble and earth. He winced sharply when he tried to move his wings and found that his left wing had been broken in his fight with Acnologia.

"Damn it…" Igneel said through gritted teeth, "that bastard got me good on his last run."

He winced again, his stance faltering just for a second, before he became aware of the mages near him. Craning his neck as he turned around, the fire dragon was relieved to see that they were unharmed for the most part.

When he felt the energies of FACE begin to amass, he had feared the worse but just as soon as the magic had built itself up…it had paused, seemingly, and nothing happened after that. It didn't take a genius to know that something must have stopped it from activating. But, so distracted was he in his panic over face, he had failed to notice Acnologia moving in for the kill.

He had stopped The Black Dragon at the last second but the subsequent onslaught had left him heavily wounded while also costing him his left wing…which had resulted in his subsequent freefall. He had no doubt that the bastard was circling overhead, waiting to see if he was dead or not.

"Like a damn buzzard." Igneel growled as he looked from the sky to the mages.

It was then that he felt a presence he had not felt in ages. A familiar aura that only a certain foe had generated.

"_It can't be,"_ Igneel thought in disbelief, _"after all this time."_

His wide eyes quickly found the source of the presence; a demon with jet black wings in the shape of a cape and glowing red eyes.

"E.N.D." Igneel whispered.

_Igneel the Fire King_, the Other hissed in E.N.D's mind, _that damn lizard is still alive after all this time. It was bad enough that I had to deal with him destroying my body in our last encounter but now I have to put up with him again._

"_Sucks to be you." _Natsu snickered, earning a warning growl from the other.

_**Igneel,**_E.N.D thought, the name causing his head to ache,

"**Igneel…"** He muttered as he absentmindedly rubbed his temple with his one hand.

It was then that said Dragon began to notice certain features about E.N.D. His height, the way his body was shaped…his pink hair color…his scent…his son's scent.

"_No,"_ Igneel thought in horror, _"no, please, no! Don't let it be him; don't let it be my son!"_

But the more he looked at E.N.D, the more he saw of Natsu in the demon. There was no denying it; E.N.D had possessed Natsu.

His beloved son had become his greatest enemy's host.

The thought made Igneel's blood simmer as his eyes glowed a fierce yellow in his anger. He promptly slammed his front claw down, causing it to break and shake violently.

Many of the mages lost their footing, but E.N.D held his ground and the fire dragon roared in sorrow and anger.

"E.N.D!" Igneel raged, "DAMN YOU! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO NATSU?!"

E.N.D continued to stay put as the dragon lumbered forward.

"RELEASE HIM THIS INSTAT! RELASE HIM OR I WILL RIP YOU FROM HIM!"

But as the dragon continued forward, the wounds on his legs began to bleed even further, causing Igneel to falter in his steps before collapsing just a few feet from E.N.D. Still, he continued to struggle, a fierce glare in his eyes.

But there was something else in those eyes, E.N.D noted in surprise.

_**Tears,**_ E.N.D thought, _**he's…he's crying.**_

Indeed, tears silently fell from the dragon's eyes as he panted in pain, but they seemed to go unnoticed by the dragon.

"Give him back," Igneel hissed, "give me back my son."

A memory flashed before E.N.D's eyes in that moment, causing him to wince sharply.

It was a memory of a large wing covering him from a heavy rain as he curled up next to the comfortable warmth the dragon generated.

"**I remember…"** E.N.D muttered as if a daze as the memories slowly came out from hiding.

He remembered the dragon before him teaching him how to read and write, about the world he lived in and faraway places.

About strength and the power of fire.

Of courage and friendship.

He remembered feeling safe with the dragon; knowing that no matter what, Igneel would always protect him.

But most of all, he remembered the one name he had always called the dragon by; the dragon who had taken him in and raised him as if he were his own flesh and blood.

Slowly E.N.D stepped towards the dragon who hissed in turn. But E.N.D wasn't deterred as he came within arm's length of the dragon. He then extended his right hand from beneath his wings and let it rest against the fiery warm skin of the dragon. Igneel twitched at the contact and E.N.D cocked his head slightly, his brow furrowing while his eyes glowed softly.

"**Dad?"** E.N.D said, startling Igneel.

Wide eyed the dragon could only gape as the demon closed his eyes and lowered his head in what appeared to be shame.

"**I forgot about you,"** he said, his tone laced with pain, **"I can't believe I forgot about you."**

Despite the warping of E.N.D's words, Igneel heard a familiar voice none the less.

"Natsu?" Ingeel said, making the demon look to him with eyes filled with heart ache.

"Are you…are you still in there?"

The corners of E.N.D's maw turned up slightly in what appeared to be a sad smile.

The ground rumbled once more and the crashing of rock and debris broke the moment between father and son.

For having landed a short distance away from the mages, dragon and rouge demon, was The Black Dragon himself; Acnologia.

"Well, well, well," Acnologia said in sinister amusement, "what do we have here?"

He looked to the mages and then to Igneel.

"A bunch of humans who are too stubborn to die and an equally stubborn dragon," Acnologia sneered, "how pathetic."

"Acnologia." Natsu whispered, his tone guarded but filled with apprehension.

_And so another pain in the ass decides to show himself as well,_ the Other said.

_**Who is he? **_E.N.D mentally asked as he observed the blue and black dragon before him.

"_He's bad news…really bad news,"_ Natsu said as he swallowed hard, _"he tried to kill us all seven years ago and now he's back."_

E.N.D noticed how tense Natsu sounded but did not voice his observation.

"_And he's tough too,"_ Natsu said, _"really tough."_

"**So am I."** E.N.D hissed.

Acnologia heard the faint whisper of the demons voice and turned his attention to E.N.D who noticed for the first time.

"Well, isn't this a surprise." The dragon said, his mouth turning up in sadistic grin, "It appears I didn't have to wake you up after all E.N.D when apparently you've come to me."

"**You know who I am?" **E.N.D questioned, slightly surprised.

"How could I not." Acnologia said, "I know all about the demons of Tartarus and their twisted devotion to Zeref. Even you, "Master E.N.D"."

E.N.D narrowed his eyes at the dragons mocking tone.

"**I no longer nor ever had any allegiance to those fools."** E.N.D growled, but Acnologia simply laughed.

"Allegiance or not, you are the strongest out of all of Zeref's demons. And now that you're here, you've made it easier for me to complete my endgame."

"**What are you talking about?"** E.N.D questioned, placing his hands on his hips.

"Once I defeat you, which I have no doubt I will, I shall absorb your power and combine it with mine. Once that is done, I will seek out Zeref himself and rip him to pieces; taking all of his power as well."

"**What in the world could you possibly gain from doing that?"** E.N.D asked.

"Power," the dragon said with a menacing grin, "absolute power-all the power I could ever want and more. With two of the greatest threats to this world purged from existence, my power-no, my rule-will go unchecked! No one will stand against me and I will finally be able to force humanity back to the groveling and sniveling worms that they are!"

Acnologia looked to the Fairy Tail mages, a sneer marring his features.

"Starting with those who have been a thorn in my side for far too long."

E.N.D let out a low, angered hiss as he clenched his hands until the knuckles and the bones of his forearms began to crack and pop.

"**That's not going to happen."** E.N.D said, his voice low.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Acnologia said, turning back to the demon, "You can't possibly think-"

The dragon of destruction was promptly cut off when E.N.D appeared before him and delivered a perfect, four knuckle strike to his snout, making him cry out and stumble back from the impact of the hit.

"**Simple,"** E.N.D said, his wings keeping him in the air, **"I'm going to kick your ass."**

E.N.D flapped his wings and propelled himself forward with blinding speed before slowing himself down just enough to spin mid-air and deliver a perfect roundhouse kick to the side of Acnologia's head. The dragon was lifted off his claws and was sent careening into the ground.

Hovering, E.N.D looked to the mages and his father.

"**Look after Igneel,"** he called out, **"I'll handle him."**

"Natsu." Lucy whispered in concern as she watched the demon fly off after Acnologia.

Igneel grunted, catching her attention. She turned to the downed dragon and the two locked eyes for the first time.

"It's nice to finally meet you Lucy Heartfilia," Igneel said, before wincing, "but I wish things were under better circumstances."

"…Same to you Igneel." Lucy said in awe before looking over the dragon's shoulder to see E.N.D reengage Acnologia.

"He's still in there." Igneel said, making Lucy look at him.

"What?" Lucy said.

"My son," Igneel said as he rested his head down with a tired sigh, "He's in there somewhere, I can sense him."

Lucy lowered her head, biting her lip.

"You care deeply for my son don't you?" Igneel asked, earning a nod from Lucy.

"With all my heart." She whispered.

"…He'll return," Igneel said as he raised his claw to gently caress Lucy's cheek, "one way or another; Natsu will return to us."

XXXX

Acnologia slid with his claws braced against the ground as he took the brunt of another spin kick from E.N.D. Although he appeared unaffected by the attacks, the dragon was loathe to admit that the attacks carried a good amount of weight to them.

It was something he found rather unacceptable to be honest.

No one was top dog but him and he refused to let a single demon get the best of him.

"You're going to have to do better than that E.N.D!" Acnologia roared as he fired his Dragon's Roar at the demon.

E.N.D evaded the magic blast as it cut its way through the air before diving down to the ground, wings swept against his body. He flared his wings at the last possible second as he reached the ground and soared up at the dragon, coming in fast and low.

He delivered a jarring uppercut that sent Acnologia's mind reeling. Not finished with his attack, E.N.D formed a lance of fire in his still outstretched hand and tossed it Acnologia only for the dragon to block the attack with his wing. The lance erupted in a burst of flame but seemed to have little affect against Acnologia. The dragon lowered his wing, glaring at E.N.D and the demon knew he was about to be in for some serious hurt.

The dragon flared his wings and sprung up from the ground, charging E.N.D with equal the speed he had been using.

"**Oh, damn it."** Was all E.N.D could say before he hit by Acnologia's outstretched claw.

E.N.D was snapped right to the ground, cratering the ground on impact but landing in a crouch. With ringing ears, Natsu began to rise but was knocked back down when Acnologia smashed his claw down upon him; pummeling him into the earth.

Again.

And again.

"How dare you strike me!" The black dragon raged, "How dare you strike me you insignificant little worm! Me; Acnologia the Black Dragon!"

The claw then wrapped around E.N.D, lifting him up as he let out a low groan as he was brought to the dragon's eye level.

"You don't deserve to even be acknowledged by me…to think that you have the audacity to challenge me is insulting."

The dragon squeezed E.N.D who began to push back against the dragon's grip, becoming aware of his predicament.

"Ah, a fighter to the end." Acnologia sneered, "You've incurred my ire E.N.D…it takes a lot to do that. The last time that happened, I thought I had obliterated those insufferable mages from existence. I won't make the same mistake again."

Acnologia grinned a wicked grin.

"I will give you a relatively painless death…relatively." The dragon said before he opened his mouth, put E.N.D on his teeth and snapped his jaw shut.

E.N.D's hands suddenly shot up and caught the attack, stopping Acnologia's bite and causing the jaw to tremble and he rose up to his feet. Acnologia growled in anger and E.N.D let out a similar growl.

"**No way in hell am I turning into your lunch!"** E.N.D hissed. There was no way he was going to be eaten and if he had to push back until the dragon's jaw broke, then so be it.

But Acnologia had other plans.

Without warning, E.N.D found himself flat on his chest, dangling from Acnologia's lower teeth, courtesy of the dragon's tongue-of all things-knocking his legs out from under him. With his mouth free, Acnoloiga promptly snapped his mouth closed…and bisected E.N.D across the middle.

As his legs and torso fell, E.N.D was then spat out by the dragon just as his lava like blood began to spurt freely from his two severed halves. Barely conscious, he could just make out the sound of horrified screaming coming from Igneel and the Fairy Tail mages; Lucy's being the most prominent.

With a meaty smack, E.N.D hit the ground with his eyes rolled up into his head. A pool of steaming lava rapidly pooled under bisected body while Acnologia cackled in triumph. He then loomed over E.N.D, looking down on him.

"And now to make sure you stay dead." Acnologia said as he opened his mouth, charging his dragon's roar to maximum power, placing his claw down over E.N.D to hold him in place. But as soon he made contact with E.N.D he felt the sensation-a very powerful sensation-of curse magic flicker across his senses.

E.N.D's head snapped up so that the two made eye contact; E.N.D's glowing furiously as equally glowing cracks formed and spread out from the corners of his eyes. His eyes flashed and a concentrated beam of energy was fired from the two organs with a high pitched cry. The laser hit Acnologia directly in his left eye, interrupting his attack and making him cry out in agony; his claw releasing E.N.D and snapping up to clutch at his eye.

Freed from his oppressor, E.N.D pushed himself on his hands, eyes glowing once more as he fired off a second blast from his optical laser.

"_I'M A' FIRIN' MAH LAZER!"_ Natsu excitedly called out in his mind while the Other let out both a pained and annoyed groan.

_Oh spare me_, he grumbled.

Said laser struck Acnologia in the chest and knocked him onto his back, flailing about while letting off obscenity after obscenity. The black ichor that had reattached E.N.D's arm earlier sprung forth from his gaping wound and quickly sought out his lower half. Grabbing his lower torso and legs, the two halves were quickly reattached with a hiss of steam as E.N.D pushed himself up and onto his feet.

He winced, clutching his stomach.

"**That was too close,"** he said as he watched Acnologia continue to curse and clutch his now bleeding eye, **"too damn close."**

_As strong as that attack was it seems to have had little effect on the bastard,_ the Other said, _we'll have to try something else…something that will put us on equal footing._

_**I'm well aware of that,**_ E.N.D thought, _**question is what and how? Oh, and for the record; there is no "we." There's just me and the kid.**_

The Other growled but held his tongue.

"Look, he's getting up!" Natsu said, catching E.N.D's attention.

Sure enough, Acnologia was pushing himself up with his one front leg and two hind legs. He pulled the other front leg away from his bleeding eye, noting the glistening and sticky liquid that coated his palm and leaked from his still smoking eye socket; the eye completely vaporized.

Acnologia snarled before, teeth clenched together before tossing his head back and letting out a roar of anger so powerful that both the air and ground seemed to shake from the dragon's fury.

"I'LL SLAUGHTER YOU E.N.D!" Acnologia roared, "I'LL SPILL YOUR GUTS ALL ACORSS THE LAND AND BATHE IN YOUR BLOOD! THERE WILL BE NOTHING LEFT, YOU HERE ME!? NOTHING!"

"**Well he's certainly pissed." **E.N.D said as he cracked his neck.

"_How are we going to stop him now!?"_ Natsu asked, _"There's no way we'll be able to take him on now!"_

Natsu was right. In his rage, it was most certain that Acnologia would unleash all his power to kill him; and he doubted he would be able to fully recover from the dragon's revenge fueled counterattacks.

_The boy is right,_ the Other said, as things are, _we will not last long. Our only hope would be to bring another dragon into the conflict, for only another dragon can kill a dragon…but as far as I can see, the only ones on hand are Acnologia and Igneel. As much as it pains me to admit it, his assistance is needed; but I doubt he would last long given his current condition._

E.N.D was quiet as he watched Acnologia begin to turn and face him, albeit slowly.

Another dragon, E.N.D mused.

As his mind raced for alternatives to his current problems, E.N.D remembered something that had gone unnoticed in his previous attacks. In order to charge and fire optical lasers, E.N.D was forced to tap deep into his power; into power that had been buried by his transformation and newfound power.

As he had gathered that power, he thought he sensed a power that was separate from the power of Igneel that still resided within him.

It almost felt like…another dragon.

_**Natsu,**_ E.N.D asked, _**when I was charging my power, I thought I felt the presence of another dragon in some of that power. Can you explain that?**_

"_Other dragon?"_ Natsu replied, _"The only dragon's power that I have was given to me by Igneel and…"_ But his tone quickly died down, almost as if he was realizing or remembering something.

"_Wait…Wait a minute,"_ Natsu said his tone picking back up in strength, _"I remember! Back during the Grand Magic Games I ate some of Atlas Flame's fire! I ate the fire of a dragon! I just didn't think any of that fire was left; I thought I had used it up."_

_**Atlas Flame**__, _E.N.D thought_**, are you sure of that?**_

"_Yeah! He and Igneel are best friends so that makes him my uncle!" _Natsu said with pride.

"**Then that's good enough for our needs."** E.N.D said as he closed his hands into fists and pressed them against each other; closing his eyes in concentration.

"_But Atlas Flame is dead,"_ Natsu said, _"How can he help us? Last time I checked it's, like, impossible to bring back the dead."_

E.N.D focused his power and called forth a curse of great power from the recesses of his mind. He then slowly raised arms before him, hands open and palms out flat. Slowly, a series of glyphs and sigils appeared around him, glowing dark shades of red, purple, green and blue. An intricate circle quickly formed beneath his feet as it emitted a slowly brightening glow.

"**Oh believe me kid,"** E.N.D mumbled as his eyes snapped open, glowing a brilliant red, **"there are plenty of ways to **_**wake**_** the dead. For even the tiniest trace of magic can retain the memories and power of its wielder."**

The circle continued to glow in intensity as did the glyphs and sigils. A cold breeze suddenly manifested with a sound akin to the whispering of voices; many voices, all that one time.

"**Curse Magic,"** E.N.D said, **"Necromancy." **

The breeze turned into a powerful wind, the voices continuing their unending calls and chants.

"**I call you forth from the netherworld to do my bidding on the field of battle. I call forth strength and power, your body and soul; I call you back to the world of the living."**

The glow of the circle and symbols had become almost blinding. The ground had begun to tremble slightly as the wind continued its ghostly calls.

"**Return from whence you came; **_**Atlas Flame!**_**"**

And for a moment, everything stilled. And then, in flash of light and roar of fire, the ground beneath E.N.D shattered to pieces as a brilliant geyser of flame erupted from the earth. But E.N.D didn't mind as he rose steadily from his spot, he could take the heat.

The fire billowed and swirled but soon enough, it began to take on an animalistic shape; the fire having taken a life of its own. First came the body, then the front legs followed by the wings. Then came the tail and wings which were flared as if ready to fly one more. And then finally, amongst the flames at constituted as a head with burning horns of flame, a face appeared. The eyes were narrowed and the grin was jagged but wide.

Once again, the Flame Dragon-Atlas Flame-had returned to the world of the living as he let out bellowing roar.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Atlas said, as he took in his environment, "Where am I and what in the nine hells is going on here!?"

The dragon felt something land atop his head and he craned his neck to get a better look. He soon saw E.N.D looking down upon him as the demon offered him a small wave.

"Who are you?" Atlas hissed, "The last thing I remember is being sent off to paradise after I had that talk with Igneel's boy about E.N.D. And now I'm here, not dead and certainly not in the afterlife."

Atlas's eyes narrowed.

"Your aura is familiar…diluted by the darkness of a demon, but none the less…Natsu?" Atlas said in confusion.

"Natsu is that you?"

E.N.D shook his head.

"**No."** E.N.D said, **"Natsu is apparently the name of my host body. My name is **_**E.N.D.**_**"**

"E.N.D!" Atlas said in shock before his flames crackled and flickered in fury, "You damn demon; what have you done to him!?"

"**Calm down dragon, I mean you no harm,"** E.N.D said, flaring his own, more powerful aura, **"Natsu is tucked away somewhere inside of me, but he is a constant presence in my mind none the less. Concentrate your magic and I'm sure you'll make some form of contact with his magic."**

"I think I'll do just that." Atlas said skeptically.

He focused on the demons aura, who willingly toned it down to make Atlas's search easier. At first, Atlas found nothing and he began to suspect that E.N.D was bullshitting him when he sensed it. It was like the flickering flame of a small candle, but he sensed it none the less.

A very familiar magic; a very familiar soul.

"_Hi Uncle!"_ The soul called out jovially in child's voice.

But there was no mistaking it…the soul was Natsu's. E.N.D had been telling the truth.

"Why have you summoned me demon?" Atlas asked, eyes narrowed in skepticism.

"…**I require your help with a certain…**_**problem.**_**"** E.N.D said.

"What kind of problem?" Atlas asked and E.N.D simply pointed forward; right as a very angry voice called out.

"E.N.D!" Acnologia raged.

Atlas's head snapped to the source of the voice, a stunned look gracing his burning features. He blinked once, twice and then thrice, before his already present grin became even further wicked.

"Ah," Atlas said, "I see, so that's your "problem"."

"What is the meaning of this E.N.D!?" Acnologia barked, "Why is Atlas Flame here!? Explain yourself!"

"**Atlas Flame has been resurrected for the time being to help me kick your ass into oblivion."** E.N.D stated, causing Acnologia to let out a humorless laugh.

"Stop me, one of my own kind? I fail to see the humor in this." Acnologia sneered.

"You were never one of us Acnologia," Atlas Flame said, making Acnologia glare at the other dragon, "you were never a true dragon."

"What did you say?" Acnologia hissed, "How dare you question my right to bear the name of dragon!"

"The power given to you was a gift from those who swore to protect humanity," Atlas countered, "You were a human who gained too much from the blood of those who called you friend; a human who became too self-absorbed and arrogant in his never ending lust for power!"

"Humans a weak, simple creatures whose sole purpose is to serve us!" Acnologia snapped, "They don't deserve to live freely in a world that was rightfully ours to begin with!"

"No Acnologia, _they do_." Atlas said, "Our time has long since passed. The age of man began the day we chose sides in the Dragon Civil War. And I will not let the sacrifices of my brothers and sisters come to waste after all this time due to the power hungry, arrogant piece of shit that you have become!"

Acnologia growled deeply and squared his shoulders.

"And in order to achieve that, you are willing to be put under the thumb of a mere demon?" Acnologia hissed.

Atlas's eyes narrowed.

"It is true that E.N.D summoned me back from the grave, but I do this of my own volition this time."

Atlas took a stance similar to Acnologia's.

"I've waited three hundred years for this day to come Acnologia and I sure as hell am not going to turn down the opportunity to deliver the ass kicking you so rightfully deserve. It's time that the shadow of the Dragon Civil War be vanquished…prepare to experience the fires of hell."

The two dragons glared down upon each other.

"Then Atlas Flame…_let's bury the hatchet into each other_ and settle this once and for all." Acnoloiga sneered.

"Ladies first." Atlas quipped as E.N.D leapt off the dragon's head, taking to the air.

With two mighty roars, the dragons charged one another.

XXXX

Atlas Flame collided headfirst into Acnologia, pushing him back as he dug his hind legs into the ground while his front claws grappled with Atlas Flame's. The Black Dragon open his mouth and bit down onto the fire dragon, ignoring the searing heat that filled his mouth as Atlas roared in anger.

Atlas flame in turn used his right wing to smash into Acnologia's face, releasing the bite as the dragon used his Flame Dragon's Roar at point blank range. The jet of molten hot fire burned and seared Acnologia's armored skin and just as he was ready to retaliate, E.N.D came swooping in-flaring his wings out-and drop kicked Acnologia atop his head, snapping it to the ground.

Atlas Flame in turn smashed his claw down atop the fallen dragon and proceeded to violently drag Acnologia across the ground head first in a grinding motion. The ground suddenly disappeared in brilliant burst of light, sending Atlas back as Acnologia freed himself with his own dragon's roar. He then fired the attack again, striking Atlas in his side and tossing him aside.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Acnologia roared as he pounced onto the flame dragon, his claws ripping into the living flames. Atlas violently struggled beneath Acnologia as the black dragon moved his claws to grip his jaw and neck in a twisting manner; trying to break Atlas's neck.

"A little help would be appreciated!" Atlas said through clenched teeth in pain.

E.N.D came swooping in once again but Acnologia anticipated the attack and fired his dragon's roar at the demon. E.N.D dodged the attack, dropped to the ground and broke out into a mad dash. He then leapt into the air, spinning as he did so and delivered two rapid but punishing tornado kicks to Acnologia's ribs; knocking him off of Atlas Flame just enough for the dragon to elbow Acnologia off of him.

Atlas then inhaled deeply as the flames on his body began to glow brilliantly in color. He then released his super charged flame dragon's roar which summarily exploded on impact with the dark dragon. Stumbling back, half his body on fire, Acnologia was unprepared for Atlas's fire spin which barreled down on him from the previous attack.

The two dragon's collided and Acnologia was sent careening back, rolling end over end before coming to a stop.

"**Did you stop him?"** E.N.D asked as he hovered next to Atlas Flame, carefully watching the downed dragon.

"Stop him?" Atlas said, shaking his head, "No; more like knocked the wind out of him."

With a series of guttural growls and snarls, Acnologia pushed himself up and glared at the demon and dragon.

"I'VE HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH OF YOU TWO!" Acnologia roared.

"Oh boy, he's pissed." Atlas said, letting out a low whistle.

"**Tell me about it, why do you think I summoned you?"** E.N.D said as he formed two blades from his arms.

Acnologia let out a low growl before looking slightly off in the direction of Igneel and the Fairy Tail mages, a gesture that went unnoticed. He let a small grin form on his mouth before he charged up a dragon's roar. When it seemed like he was about to fire on Atlas and E.N.D, he snapped his head to the left and fired in the opposite direction.

"What the hell!?" Atlas said in surprise, following the attack.

E.N.D quickly realized where the beam of energy was heading, however.

"**The others!"** E.N.D cried and immediately flew off after the attack. Racing parallel to the attack, wings swept close, as he frantically thought of a way to stop the attack. The distance was closing fast and as E.N.D drew closer, E.N.D saw a shocking sight; Igneel was moving to shield Lucy with his body-they had no time to escape the attack. Just like the other mages.

"_Dad!"_ Natsu cried out, _"Lucy, no!"_

There was no way he would reach them in time. E.N.D decided to take a drastic measure, not really knowing if it would kill him or not. He put in a burst of speed and sped ahead of the attack, back facing the mages and Igneel-right hand balled into a fist as he focused his curse magic into his hand. He intercepted Acnologia's dragons roar in a flash of light and a tremendous explosion that shook the ground beneath those below.

Igneel continued shield Lucy who had covered her face with her arms but the moment the explosion erupted, she looked past her limbs to see E.N.D spiraling out of the smoke and crashing down a few feet away.

"Natsu!" Lucy called out in a panic and ran over to the fallen demon despite the protests of Igneel.

She slid to hers knees, next to E.N.D as the demon let out a wheezing series of coughs.

"**Oh man," **E.N.D coughed, **"that was stupid on so many levels."**

His body was burned badly as smoke drifted off his charred skin. Lucy was relieved however to see that the damage was healing however, albeit slowly.

"You idiot," Lucy said in both frustration and relief, "what were you thinking!?"

"**Thinking?"** E.N.D said as he propped himself up, **"That's debatable."**

Lucy let out a sigh and shook her head.

"Don't scare me like that anymore…I nearly lost my mind when I saw you get bit in half back there."

"…**Sorry…"** E.N.D said as he lowered his eyes, **"…Lucy."**

The celestial spirit mage's head snapped up, eyes wide.

"What did you just say?" Lucy whispered in disbelief.

Before E.N.D could answer, Atlas Flame came crashing down to the earth as he was hurled over the two mages. A massive claw then swept down over Lucy and backhanded E.N.D away with a solid "thwack" as the demon let out a surprised cry, while another claw slugged Igneel in the face.

The claw that had hit E.N.D came back and before Lucy could scramble to her feet to run, she found herself in a vice like grip as she was brought face to face with the dragon that had haunted her nightmares since Fairy Tail had returned from Tenrou Island; Acnologia.

The dragon squeezed her even tighter, making her cry out in pain as a demented grin split his face.

"If you so much as scream for help, I'll squeeze you till your head pops off like a dandelion."

He then faced the other mages, who were frozen with fear.

"Same goes for the rest of you damn humans!" Acnologia snarled.

E.N.D, who had been buried in a pile of rubble from the hit, numbly dug himself out and fell to his hands and knees, looking up at the dragon who held Lucy hostage.

"_That animal!"_ Natsu snapped, _"No one touches Lucy like that and gets away with it!"_

For a child, E.N.D could feel the weight of the desperate anger coming from his words. It was this anger, the power of the emotion itself, which spurred forth a memory-just like before.

"_If you so much as lay a finger on Lucy, I'll crush you! You hear me!?"_

And then another one.

"_Natsu," Lucy said, her voice laced with sorrow as tears ran down her face, "Does magic only cause sadness, is that really true?"_

_He was quiet…but shook his head in response._

"_If magic is what made me cry," Lucy sobbed as she stepped forward into his awaiting arms, "there's got to be a way…it can make me stop crying to."_

"_At the very end, Éclair was smiling." he said as Lucy pulled back, her sobs continuing to wrack her body._

"…_She was." Lucy said._

"_Don't worry," he said, his voice gentle with a soft, comforting smile, "we're all in this together."_

_He then pulled Lucy into an equally comforting hug as the spirit mage continued to sob against her best friend._

E.N.D clutched his head, gasping sharply at the memory.

"**Lucy…"** E.N.D said through his strained voice.

"_C'mon Lucy, let's go on a job today!"_

_Lucy…_

"_Geez Lucy, why are you acting all weird again?_

_Lucy…_

"_Hi Lucy, sorry about the door again but me and Happy were really hungry and it wasn't locked so…"_

_Lucy…_

"_We'll always be friends Lucy; I promise."_

_Lucy…_

_Lucy…_

_**Lucy!**_

With a shuddering gasp, E.N.D's eyes began to widen as he clutched his head against the splitting pain.

He remembered now…he remembered her; how on earthland could he ever forget Lucy!?

Rising to his feet, hands balling at his sides while his breathing became deep and ragged in anger, E.N.D let out a deep, rumbling growl from deep within his chest; his glowing crimson eyes glaring up at Acnologia.

The dragon saw E.N.D rise and grinned wickedly as he held Lucy up for him to see as Acnologia increased his grip. Lucy let out a strangled scream of pain as she desperately gasped for air.

"Try anything E.N.D and I'll make sure she pops like a melon." The dragon sneered.

"…_**Let her go you ugly motherfucker."**_ E.N.D growled as the air around him began to waver from the heat he began to generate.

His left hand suddenly sprung open as a large, angular, diamond shaped shield formed on his arm. The arm was raised in an equally rapid manner and E.N.D squeezed his hand shut; launching the front half of the shield from his arm like the broad head of an arrow, a long chain trailing behind it.

The shield piece had traveled too fast for Acnologia to respond and within the fraction of a second, the metal weapon lodged itself in his claw; right between two of the knuckles and digging deep between the muscle, sinew and tendons of the claw.

Acnologia cried out in pain as E.N.D drew the chain taught and pulled the dragon forward with inhuman strength. With his muscles straining and veins popping from beneath his steaming skin, E.N.D snapped the dragon forward and tossed him over this shoulder; the chains connecting the two never breaking.

The action caused Acnologia to let go of Lucy as he was tossed and slammed onto his back. E.N.D launched himself into the air and caught Lucy before she could even hit the ground. Landing back on his feet with Lucy cradled in his right arm, E.N.D retracted the blade and chain as it returned back into his arm.

Lucy coughed and gasped as she took in desperate lungful's of air.

"**It's okay,"** E.N.D said gently, **"I got you don't worry."**

"N-Natsu?" Lucy said she coughed, eyes blinking open.

"**It's okay Lucy, you're safe now."** E.N.D said, just as Acnologia recovered and righted himself up.

"YOU!" The dragon roared, his wounded hand continuing to spasm, "BY THE TIME I'M THROUGH WITH YOU, YOU WILL SCREAM FOR DEATH TO CLAIM YOU!"

The dragon charged forward but E.N.D simply narrowed his eyes.

"**I don't think so."** He whispered as Acnologia suddenly found himself stopped in his tracks; by Igneel and Atlas Flame.

The two dragons had recovered from Acnologia's previous attacks just in time to see E.N.D immobilize the dark dragon. Waiting for the right moment, the two dragons independently blindsided their foe-eyes glowing fiercely. Igneel came in low, his right hand grabbing Acnologia by his neck and forcing his head to be bent back-his jaws snapping wildly- while his left claw dug into his lower back. His mouth then latched onto his right wing. Atlas Flame had attacked from above by pouncing onto Acnologia and attacking his left wing in a similar manner to Igneel while his claws tore at the dragon's armored skin.

Natsu used his wings to fly back to the mages and gently set Lucy down next to Gray and Juvia, who quickly tended to their friend.

"**I'll be right back."** E.N.D said, stepping a few paces forward before bending down into a runner's stance.

"**This will be over soon."**

Igneel and Atlas Flame's assault was nearing its bloody conclusion. The two dragons were merciless in their attacks as Acnologia's armor and skin was ripped and torn-the dark dragon powerless to properly retaliate as he howled in agony. Then, with his wings still in their mouths, Igneel and Atlas Flame pulled in opposite directions; ripping the wings from Acnologia's back as he screamed in pure agony. Blood arced into the air as the dragon began to stumble about in his pain induced delirium.

With Acnologia open for an attack, E.N.D sprinted low towards the dragon as he moved in for the kill.

Power sliding to a stop directly beneath the dragon, the soles of his boots grinding into the dirt, E.N.D outstretched his right arm as the forearm turned into a single, massive and jagged blade. He pivoted upwards on his heel and snapped his arm out, punching through the armor of Acnologia's chest and piercing his heart.

"**Go to hell where you belong Acnologia."** E.N.D said through clenched teeth as blood spilled down his arm blade while he forced the blade further in.

Acnologia's jaw dropped open in a soundless cry, his remaining eye widening in surprise and pain, while his body started twitching spastically. Blood leaked from the wound in his chest and from his open mouth, as E.N.D twisted the blade and ripped it from the dragon. Acnologia staggered on his legs for a second before he leaned to his side and collapsed; dead.

The Dark Dragon, Acnologia, had been defeated. After three hundred years, his reign of terror had come to an abrupt and violent end.

E.N.D let out a tired sigh and reformed his arm and hand, the blade merging back into the armor. His wings slowly closed around him reforming his cape as he looked up to Atlas Flame, who silently looked down on Acnologia's corpse.

"**Atlas Flame,"** E.N.D spoke up, catching the dragon's attention, **"I thank you for your help in this battle…I release your soul back to the netherworld."**

The dragon nodded with a small grin as his body began to fade away in series of particles of light.

"Anytime…Natsu." Atlas said.

And then he was gone; returned to the afterlife.

"Goodbye…brother." Igneel said as he closed his eyes and lowered his head in respect for his old friend. He sighed in a deep, sad manner and looked to E.N.D.

The two held each other's tired gazes for a tense series of moments before Igneel inclined his head in a nod. E.N.D returned the gesture.

"**You alright?"** E.N.D asked.

"I've been better…you?" Igneel replied.

"**Much better now that Mard Geer and Acnologia are dead." **E.N.D said, but sighed, **"But I'm tired…so tired."**

With those words, he spun on his heel and made his way back to the mages while Igneel limped behind him. E.N.D was silent as he finally returned to the others and vice versa for the mages. No one dared to speak. But then again, they didn't know what to say either. The mages were no strangers to violence but seeing what E.N.D had done to Acnologia had unnerved them slightly and made them wonder if Natsu was still in the demon somewhere…or if he was beyond all help now.

E.N.D looked to Lucy who was back on her feet and approached her. Before Lucy could so much as speak, E.N.D opened his wings and raised his arms…to take Lucy into a gentle hug. His left hand cupped the base of her skull while his right fell to the middle of her back, pulling her close to him. His wings then gently wrapped around the two as E.N.D sighed deeply, his maw disappearing from his face once again.

"**I forgot about you,"** E.N.D spoke, his eyes glowing softly but distant, **"Just like my dad…I can't believe I forgot about you."**

"What?" Lucy whispered.

"**But I remember you now…"** E.N.D said, **"And I don't intend to let you or the memories we share slip away from me again."**

E.N.D exhaled deeply, pulling Lucy just a little bit more.

"I'm sorry, Lucy." E.N.D said, making Lucy gasp.

His voice. It was no longer the blend between voices that it had been. It still possessed an echo to it…but _it was Natsu's voice _none the less.

Lucy felt tears begin to run down her cheeks at the sound of hearing her beloved friend's voice.

"Natsu…" Lucy choked out as she buried her face into E.N.D's neck, "Natsu."

E.N.D closed his eyes, letting Lucy cry against him.

Igneel and the mages who witnessed the scene before them couldn't help but smiles that brightened their faces. They smiled at the tender scene between the two friends, who were reunited after the nightmare they had all just endured. But most of all they smiled in both realization and hope. Realization that Natsu, despite having been transformed into E.N.D, was still somewhere in the demon….and there was now hope of returning him back to normal.

Gray winced slightly when a buzzing sound, like static, filled his ears and he instantly recognized it as Warren's telepathy. He placed his index and middle fingers to his temple and opened the mental link.

"_Warren!?"_ Gray mentally called out, _"Is that you!?"_

"_Gray!" _Warren said in relief, _"Thank Mavis you're alright, I've finally managed a good connection!"_

"_Same to you Warren, same to you." _Gray replied,_ "What's your status?"_

"_I'm with Master Makarov and Master Mavis, we've found Mirajane and Erza along with the Exceed; they're in rough shape but they're alright."_

Gray let out a sigh of relief.

"_Hang on, I'm going to switch you over to Master Makarov." _Warren said.

"_Gray, you there?"_ Makarov asked, the telepath seamlessly changing from one person to the other.

"_Right here old man,"_ Gray said, _"everyone is present and accounted for. You are not going to believe what I have to tell you."_

"_There's no tome for that Gray; we were too late to stop FACE and I fear that it could go off at any moment. We have to link up and find a way to stop it."_

"_Uhm, Master,"_ Gray said, _"the only reason FACE hasn't gone off yet is because it's been put into some sort of standby mode."_

"_What; how!?"_ Makarov asked.

"_I'm not sure how but Natsu was able to stop it from firing. He said FACE is still active but until otherwise it can't be fired."_

"_Oh thank the Gods,"_ Makarov said, his relief obvious, _"Of course that brat would find a way to stop it. We now have something to work with. Warren has locked onto your location and we are heading your way."_

"_I'll let the others know. Also sir, Mard Geer and Acnologia are dead…Natsu…he defeated them."_

"_How!?"_ Makarov asked.

"_I'll explain when you get here…you have to see for yourself." _Gray said, his tone becoming somber.

"_Gray what's wrong?"_ Makarov asked.

"_You just have to see it for yourself Master."_ Gray repeated.

"…_Alright Gray…we'll be there soon. Oh! I forgot to mention, Wendy and Carla met up with us a few minutes ago; they're alright. We also have some mutual friends who have arrived to back us up."_

"_Who?"_ Gray asked.

"_You'll see soon enough."_ Makarov asked, _"For now, it appears the fight is over…we can start to focus on stopping FACE and rebuilding what has been lost."_

"_Amen to that Ma-"_ Gray said but was abruptly cut off when a feeling similar to the coldest ice water running down his back cut into his senses. The chill was carried into a breeze that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

And then there was a feeling-an aura of magic-that screamed dread; absolute and pure dread.

Turning his head to the source of the sensation, Gray froze in place as his eye began to slowly widen in horror.

"Master…" Gray said aloud, swallowing hard, "I think…I think we have a new problem."

The other mages and Igneel were in similar states of shock and horror as they realized what, or rather, _who_ they were staring at.

He was a young man, with short black hair that drifted in the breeze as did the white toga and red and brown robes that covered his body. He had a small but relieved smile on his face.

"Hello E.N.D…" he spoke, "or should I say; Natsu?"

E.N.D, who still held Lucy close, unwrapped his wings from her and slowly turned to face the newcomer who had spoken his name. Lucy did the same and she gasped in shock.

"It's been a while hasn't it?" The newcomer said.

Slowly, E.N.D raised his arm to shield Lucy as he uttered the name that instantly came from the back of his mind. Together with Natsu's, the Other's, and his voice combined, a single name was uttered.

"_**Zeref."**_

XXXX

A/N: DUN-DUN-DUN! Well folks, one hell of a chapter completed!

So folks, what do you all think of this one? It was a doozy to write but I think I was able to pull it off. Mard Geer and Acnologia are dead but now Zeref has made his appearance. I have one question; after what I just wrote…how in the hell am I supposed surpass all of this in the next chapter!?

*sighs* One bridge at a time I guess.

All right people, here's what's going to happen. Next week is finals week for me here at college so I'll be busy studying and then I'll also be packing up to head home for winter break (one-month of no college; yeehaw!). I will be writing in between that time but as to how far I'll get with my stories, I really can't say. I will say that despite exams and studying, I am going to try and update both _Into the Fire_ and _Kids: Knight's Tale_ sometime during the week. If not, expect them to come out the week before Christmas. I'm halfway through with them but between this story, college and everything else, I just haven't had time to work on the two. I still have my train of thought for the two stories, so don't worry!

_I will update, I can promise you all that. _

But until then, hopefully this will hold you over until the next update or when I get to my other stories.

…And in regards to the whole "Firin Mah Lazer" business in this chapter…well, I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Next time; CHAPTER 3: Zeref

As per usual, if you guys have any comments or questions, please put it in your review and I'll make sure to respond to you in the next chapter. If you have anything else that you wish to ask me or clarify, you can PM me and I'll do my best to respond ASAP.

Until next time; read, review and most importantly of all, HAPPY READING! And if I don't update this story beforehand, I wish you all a very merry Christmas!


	3. Chapter 3: Zeref

A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back! First of all let me wish you all a happy New Year; 2014 is done and out and we are now in 2015! I hope you all got a chance to celebrate with friends and family.

I apologize for the delay with this story. I got busy with my final exams and the holiday's which followed after, plus I was updating some other stories of mine. And I got sick for a few days too so that kept me out of action for a bit (still stuck with the cough from hell)…yeah, busy, busy as usual-what can I say?

I got caught up with the latest FT Manga chapter's the other day…for those of you who have read 'em, all I have to say is this; so yeah _that_ happened. I was expecting it…but it still hurt to see/read none the less. The Tartarus arc has seemingly come to a close so everything from this point on deviates from the main story line (as it should be fairly obvious by now).

So, last time we left off with END!Natsu delivering the mother of all beat downs onto both Mard Geer and Acnologia…and subsequently killing them both. The fighting caused END to change his form once again but at the same time he is still dealing with his split personalities. It all culminated with END seemingly regaining his memories of Natsu from when he was human, as he remembers his dear friend, Lucy Heartfilia. It would seem that he is on the path to recovery…at least, he was until Zeref decided to make his entrance.

Which is where we find ourselves now.

Things are about to get worse before they get better and whenever Zeref is involved, you know it can't be good. Also expect E.N.D's form to change once again too but these will be minor changes.

But, before we continue, here is a shout out to you wonderful people who left some wonderful reviews:

_**dragonball256: **_Hello there and welcome back, sorry for the delay with chapter. Glad you enjoyed the last chapter, yeah Mard Geer did get annoying and turns out he was going to get killed off anyway; that's Mashima for you! Also glad you got the laser reference (I had fun writing that part!). As for what will happen in this chapter and who will live or die…well, you'll just have to read to find out.

_**Gh0st's buddy:**_ Hello, welcome back! Glad to know you liked all the action in the last chapter. 7? I wasn't aware that there was an action meter for those types of fights. I can assure you with Zeref's arrival things are going to get very hectic very fast and the end of this chapter will have some…surprises, so to speak.

_**Wacko12:**_ Hello there and welcome back. Ah, asking the tough questions aren't we. Well, I'm not sure of what Zeref and Natsu's connection really is, so I'm flying blind when it comes to answering that. Your question will not be answered in this chapter but I can assure you, it will be answered in the next.

_**CopDog:**_ Hello there and welcome to the story. Glad you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.

_**Fire girl 108:**_ Hello and welcome to the story, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.

_**Dark Shinning Light:**_ Hello and welcome back to the story. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and that the NaLu moments were just right for you. Always happy to hear that my writing inspired a fangirl moment every now and then.

_**DarkRose358:**_ Hello and welcome to the story. I'm glad you like the story so far and that your mind's eye was bringing the chapter to life.

_**GhostOfOnyx:**_ Hello and welcome to the story, glad you're enjoying it so far.

_**Risshu:**_ Hello there and welcome to the story; sorry for the long delay with this, I hope you enjoy what transpires this time around.

_**brooke0315: **_Hello there and welcome to the story, I am glad to know that you are enjoying the story so far. And I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I passed my finals. I wracked my brain but it all paid off in the end.

Now that's taken care of…let's continue with our story!

XXXX

CHAPTER 3: Zeref

XXXX

"_Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."_ –Friedrich Nietzsche

XXXX

"Master…" Gray said aloud, swallowing hard, "I think…I think we have a new problem."

The other mages and Igneel were in similar states of shock and horror as they realized what, or rather, who they were staring at.

He was a young man, with short black hair that drifted in the breeze as did the white toga and red and brown robes that covered his body. He had a small but relieved smile on his face.

"Hello E.N.D…" he spoke, "or should I say; Natsu?"

E.N.D, who still held Lucy close, unwrapped his wings from her and slowly turned to face the newcomer who had spoken his name. Lucy did the same and she gasped in shock.

"It's been a while hasn't it?" The newcomer said.

Slowly, E.N.D raised his arm to shield Lucy as he uttered the name that instantly came from the back of his mind. Together with Natsu's, the Other's, and his voice combined, a single name was uttered.

"_**Zeref."**_

Zeref, the dark mage who had created the demons that had tormented the Fairy Tail mages-the one who had created E.N.D-had finally appeared. Zeref inclined his head towards his most powerful creation, that small smile of his still on his face.

"Yes E.N.D," Zeref said, "We meet at last. It seems you have found your host body."

Zeref then frowned slightly, however.

"It would also seem that Natsu wasn't as strong as I thought he was in resisting you."

E.N.D didn't respond. He merely stared at his creator, a tense silence filling the air between the two.

"Y-you." Lucy stuttered out, "What are you doing here?"

"Zeref," Igneel hissed, "I should have known you'd turn up eventually."

"The presence of my demons drew me here. I knew they were up to something that involved trying to awaken E.N.D…so I decided to see what they were up to this time. It seems they've made quite a mess haven't they?"

No one answered but the dark mage wasn't concerned in the least.

"But none of that matters now," Zeref said, "E.N.D has awoken…which mean the endgame can begin."

"What are you talking about?" Gray said but Zeref ignored him.

"E.N.D…Natsu," Zeref said, "Do you remember, last we met, what I asked you?"

E.N.D slowly raised his hand to his temple as he felt a sudden ache fill his head.

"Life or death?" Zeref said, "Which will it be? Will one of you prevail over the other...will one of you be the one to finally kill me?"

E.N.D froze as his hand fell back to his side, a blank look in his glowing eyes.

"Natsu?" Lucy said, "What's wrong…Natsu what's wrong?"

E.N.D didn't respond but his hand began to subconsciously push Lucy back as if sensing an impending danger.

"**Stay…back…Lucy."** E.N.D said, still in a daze.

"Natsu?" Lucy said in both confusion and fear.

"**Not…safe."** E.N.D replied.

"So you do remember." Zeref said, "Well now…what will your choice be? Who will it be E.N.D; you or Natsu?"

E.N.D still did not answer, not when his mind was in disarray with Zeref's arrival.

XXXX

_At long last_, the Other said, _my master has returned._

"_Zeref!" _Natsu said, _"He's back."_

"**Who is he?"** E.N.D asked, **"He's familiar to me…but I don't know why."**

"_He's bad,"_ Natsu said, _"really bad, we have to get away from him!"_

_Why?_ Said the other, _He is our master, why should we turn him away? We now have the opportunity to fulfill our purpose._

"_No!" Natsu said, "He's your master, not ours."_

The other let out a menacing cackle that unnerved both Natsu and E.N.D.

_Oh how wrong you are,_ the Other said, _you think that just because you two can resist me, you are immune to the influence of Lord Zeref!? HA! Don't make me laugh._

In the mindscape that the three personalities shared, the Other finally chose to manifest itself. Before E.N.D's astral form and Natsu's childlike appearance, a living shadow slowly morphed and bent its way out of the darkness. Soon enough, the shadow took shape: legs formed to a torso, arms to a chest and a head to a neck; a head with horns and glowing red eyes. A pair of wings appeared and flared out from its back.

It didn't take E.N.D long to figure out that he was looking at mirror but darker image of himself. Natsu let out a terrified whimper and hid behind E.N.D's leg.

_I-no-we were born from Zeref and his magic_, the Other said in a leering manner, _and therefore we are connected to him. The only reason we are like this, is because that brat resisted the inevitable; that he was to be the instrument of Zeref's will._

The other held out his arms as if he were emphasizing something obvious.

_And his will_, he said_, is to finally meet his end._

"**What are you getting at?"** E.N.D said as the Other chuckled in mild amusement.

_Isn't it obvious,_ the Other said, _Lord Zeref wants to die. That is his will, which is our purpose; to help him die. It may not have been our purpose when we were first crafted by Lord Zeref's hands, but it has become his will now. As the prodigal son, we should feel more than happy to fulfill the wish of our "father."_

"**I want no part in this,"** E.N.D said, **"I've resisted you this long and I sure as hell can continue. I refuse to become a murder."**

_That's rich considering you just slaughtered Mard Geer and Acnologia,_ the Other cackled.

"**Those two were different and you know it. They attacked me and the mages; if anything, they deserved it."** E.N.D bit back.

_And you think they will fare any better against Lord Zeref once you tell him you refuse to carry out his will?,_ the Other said, _They'll be dead before they know what's hit 'em._

"**I won't let that happen. I'll-"** E.N.D began but was cut off with a sinister laugh from the Other.

_You'll what? _the Other said, _Fight him? Resist him? HA! You can sense it can't you? Lord Zeref's influence, that nagging cold feeling that grips what passes for our heart? The more you resist, the stronger the pull grows and the more you fight, the closer I get to taking back the reigns._

"**What?"** E.N.D said in shock.

_Before, you were able to hold me off because of the brat and those damn memories. They kept us separated and allowed you to act of your own accord. But now that Lord Zeref has returned…so has my strength. His life is my life and we are forever bound through that twisted little bond of ours._ The Other said.

Shadows suddenly began to swirl in a menacing pattern around E.N.D and Natsu-

_Now if you don't mind_, the Other said.

-as a tendril of darkness snapped out at Natsu, grabbing the child around the ankle and yanking him down to floor with a terrified yelp. Before Natsu or E.N.D could react, the child was quickly whisked away into the shadows as he desperately clawed at the floor and pleaded for help.

"**Natsu!"** E.N.D said only for a flurry of tendrils to ensnare his arms and legs and pull him to his knees.

The other raised his hand as his fingers morphed into razor sharp daggers. His eyes narrowed, as if he were grinning.

_I'd like my body back._

And with those words, the Other plunged his fingers into E.N.D's forehead. E.N.D in turn began to scream in agony as a black ichor began to seep from the wounds, his eyes rolling up into his head. And all the while, the Other's laughter grew louder and louder as he reasserted his control.

XXXX

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out in shock.

Lucy wasn't sure what exactly happened.

One minute, E.N.D-no, Natsu she reminded herself- was beckoning her back in warning as Zeref made his appearance, and the next he was suddenly clutching at his head; screaming in agony.

E.N.D fell to his knees as he bent forward in agony. Zeref watched the scene with interest, inkling his head, while the others could only look on, unsure of what hell Natsu was being forced into now. And then, just as suddenly as it had started, E.N.D stopped his screaming. His body stilled and his hands slowly fell away from his head as he began to rise to his feet, head still bent.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked tentatively as she stepped closer, "Natsu are you alright?"

E.N.D didn't respond. He simply looked at his hands as he clenched and unclenched his fingers.

"So," Zeref said as he raised his head, "it has been decided. You have returned…"

E.N.D raised his head, not turning his head as he clenched his right into a fist to the point where the knuckles cracked. His shoulder blade twitched and the arm snapped up in a blur towards Lucy. The blonde felt herself pulled back just as quickly as she let out a surprised gasp, on part because of the jerking sensation, but more to the fact that she had narrowly avoided her head getting lopped off from the blade that extended out from E.N.D's arm.

Lucy looked to her waist where she saw a tendril of water dissipate from around her waist. She looked to her right to see the water return to Juvia who along with Gray was wide eyed at what E.N.D had just done.

"N-Natsu?" Lucy said as she looked back to E.N.D as the arm blade slid back in place.

E.N.D lowered his arm and looked over his shoulder to the mages, making many gasp in shock. The maw had returned to cover E.N.D's mouth; the ends turned up in a malevolent, twisted grin.

"**Nice save there water girl, a second sooner and she would be a head shorter so to speak."**

But most shocking of all were E.N.D's eyes which no longer glowed a fierce red. The sclera had turned from white to black, the iris had also turned black but was now outlined in red and the pupil had also changed to a similar shade of red as well.

"**In regards to Natsu, he isn't here anymore,"** E.N.D said, **"but I'm willing to take a message."**

E.N.D's voice had now become deep, sonorous and sinister with malice punctuating each word and syllable. The Echo that had been Natsu's voice was now gone. It quickly became clear to the mages that the demon that was E.N.D, had fully taken over Natsu.

"…E.N.D." Zeref said.

"No..." Lucy whispered.

"What…I mean…how?" Levy said as E.N.D turned sideways to face the mages.

"Son of a bitch," Igneel whispered in shock before his brow quickly furrowed in anger, "he's back."

"What did you do?" Gray hissed, directing his gaze to Zeref, "What did you do to him?!"

"**He woke me up,"** E.N.D said, **"and I put the little punk back in his place."**

The demon lord of Tartarus then turned his head to face Zeref, bowing slightly when he faced the dark mage.

"**Lord Zeref," **E.N.D said, **"it's been too long."**

"So it has E.N.D," Zeref replied, frowning slightly, "I guess Natsu was truly overwhelmed after all."

"**You sound disheartened my lord, dose my presence despise you so?"** E.N.D said in amusement.

"I was hoping that Natsu would be able to settle things between us…I grew a bit fond of him in a way." Zeref replied.

"**Beggars can't be choosers my lord,"** said E.N.D, "**the brat has been dealt with for the time being. I for one am all too happy to fill his shoes…and carry out your will."**

Zeref sighed in resignation before smiling his small smile, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"So it would seem." Zeref said, "Tell me E.N.D, what is my will."

E.N.D's eyes narrowed as his grin tightened on his maw.

"**To end your life my lord…that is your will. To give you the death you have been longing for and return to your side once and for all."** E.N.D said.

"WHAT!?" Gray and Lucy said in shock.

"You want to kill Zeref?" Levy said, "But…why? He is your master-your creator-is he not?"

"**I thought it would be quite clear,"** E.N.D said as he turned back to address the mages, **"I mean, how could it not? Did any of you ever stop to think what would happen when the demons of Tartarus resurrected me? Why they wanted so desperately to "return" to Lord Zeref?"**

The demon lord pointed to said dark mage.

"**In killing Zeref we too shall die."** E.N.D said in sadistic glee as he watched the realization dawn on the faces of the Fairy Tail mages.

"**We were born from him so naturally we should die with him. We will have come full circle."**

"Then…then that would mean Natsu…" Lucy said as E.N.D chuckled darkly.

"**Again with that meddlesome brat. But I give you credit girl, you catch on quick. The boy is my host so ergo we are connected to one another. So if I die…he dies."** E.N.D said as he chuckled again, **"Two corpses in one grave." **

"I knew you had a death wish Zeref," Igneel said as he glared at the dark mage, "but to have gone so far as this…"

Zeref simply smirked prompting a growl from Igneel.

"You planned this out from the start didn't you?" The dragon hissed, "From the moment you met Natsu, you had this "end" in mind for the two of you."

"…No," Lucy said as she began to shake her head, "No! It can't be…you can't do that! Not to him; not to Natsu!"

E.N.D simply chuckled darkly in response to Lucy's protests.

"I won't let you harm Natsu; the both of you!" Lucy yelled, directing her anger to both E.N.D and Zeref.

"**And what do you intend to girl? You think you have what it takes to stop me from carrying out my masters will?"**

"She won't be alone," Gray said as he stepped forward, "Natsu is one of ours and we'll fight like hell to get him back. Even if it means kicking your ass into next week, we'll get our comrade back."

Gray's statement earned a reinvigorated response of determination from the other Fairy Tail mages via a series of battle cries and personal declarations. E.N.D, for his part, simply rolled his eyes and sighed deeply before pinching his brow.

"**So misguided."** E.N.D said as he flared his magical aura. It visibly manifested in the air around E.N.D and radiated like the heat from a fire...only instead of warmth, a deathly chill took its place.

The air became thick and heavy-borderline suffocating in fact-with what could only be described as personified hatred. It was an overwhelming sensation that brought the mages to their knees as they gasped and panted for breathe. Even Igneel-due to his weakened state-was forced to collapse to the ground.

The only ones standing were E.N.D and Zeref, who was unfazed by the killing intent being generated by the demon.

"**You know,"** E.N.D said as he calmly walked over to Gray before kneeling down to the ice mage, **"I never really understood that about you humans. Even when you find yourselves at death's door, you continue to put up a brave face and fight on."**

Gray, despite the shaking of his body, managed to look up at E.N.D who impassively stared back at the ice mage.

"**What you are feeling is only a fraction of my power. Due to the circumstances surrounding my awakening, I am not at my full power."**

He then raised his index finger and turned it into a razor sharp claw and slowly dragged it across Gray's cheek, making him wince in pain. The blade was hot to the touch.

"**However, I awoke with enough strength to kill both Mard Geer and Acnologia…and it's more than enough for me to simply turn you into a bloody smear on the ground if I so much as flick my wrist."**

E.N.D leaned closer to Gray and cocked his head slightly. It was a simple but unnerving gesture.

"**Why on Earthland would you think that you could stop me from killing Zeref…when it would be child's play for me to kill you and the rest of your pathetic friends."**

E.N.D rose to his feet and turned on his heel, walking away from Gray. He paused long enough to look over his shoulder and back at the ice mage, a taunting smirk having formed on the maw.

"**Death comes for all and no matter how hard we try, it always catches up to us. Lord Zeref and I shall die on this day, as will my host…and the lot of you as well if you try to get in my way."**

"B-Bastard." Gray said as he continued to struggle against E.N.D's killing intent.

"N-No," Lucy said in an equal state, "s-stop, please!"

But E.N.D ignored the humans, having turned his attention back to Zeref.

"**Let's take our "discussion" elsewhere,"** E.N.D said as he came to a stop next to his master, **"I don't want these vermin to interrupt us. Especially since I sense more of them drawing closer."**

"I agree," Zeref said, "I don't want to put this off any longer than I already have. Follow me, I know a spot."

With those words, Zeref began to fade away like smoke in the wind. E.N.D cracked his knuckles and neck before his body too began to disperse in a flurry of burning embers.

"**Eager to die aren't we?"** E.N.D said before letting out a throaty cackle, **"How amusing."**

And then he too was gone…freeing the mages of the killing intent that had immobilized them while they watched Zeref and E.N.D literally set out to their deaths.

XXXX

"DAMN IT!" Gray yelled as he slammed his fist onto the ground, "They got away!"

"Why," Lucy said as tears began to spill from her eyes, "why is this happening?"

"Those damn bastards ran off," Gajeel said as he helped Levy stand on her feet, "all so they could carry out some twisted death wish."

"I was afraid something like this would happen." A voice suddenly said, catching the mages attention.

They turned their attention to a large mound of rubble that lay nearby, just in time to see Mavis Vermillion hop on down to meet the mages.

"E.N.D's awakening would herald the return of Zeref," the resurrected first leader of Fairy Tail said, "but I never would have imagined all of this happening all so soon…and to one of our own none the less."

"Master Mavis." Levy said.

"Hello Miss McGarden," Mavis said with a slight bow of her head, "I am glad to see that you alive; all of you in fact."

"Master Mavis…Natsu he's…" Lucy said but Mavis raised her hand, gently silencing Lucy.

"We know Lucy…we know." Mavis said gently.

"And we'll get him back." A new but familiar voice said.

The mages looked up to see Master Makarov slide down the rubble and come to a stop next to Mavis. But he was not alone for the remainder of Fairy Tail followed close behind him…and then some. For amongst the group, back on their feet, were Laxus, Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen; the Thunder God Tribe was back in action. They all looked worse for wear but they stood tall regardless of their injuires.

"Laxus!" Gray said as a smile formed on his face, "Freed, Bickslow; you guys are alright!"

"You know it," Laxus said with a smirk before wincing slightly, "it'll take more than some of that black magic shit to keep me and the others down."

"Don't get any funny ideas," Porlyusica said, her tone stern, "the antidote I made for you may have saved your hides but you're still not at one hundred percent."

"Hey don't forget about us," Erza said she appeared…leaning against one Jellal Fernandes and Meredy, "we can still fight too."

Lucy noted that Jellal had a series of bandages wrapped around his eyes but that didn't appear to hindrance him in the least.

"Erza!" Lucy said, her shock matching the others in her group, "Jellal, Meredy, is that you?!"

"Hello Lucy," Jellal said, "it's been a while hasn't it?"

The trio were shortly followed by Mirajane who was being carried by Elfman, Minerva-still in her demon form, the exceed and-much to everyone's surprise, Midnight, Cobra, Angel, Racer and Hoteye from the Oracion Seis dark guild.

"W-What are they doing here!?" Lucy said in understandable alarm. She still hadn't forgotten what the dark mages had done to her and the others during the whole fiasco with their attempt to resurrect both Jellal and Zeref.

"Relax Lucy," Makarov said, "they are not here to harm us."

"Makarov is right," Jellal said, "they are with me and Meredy of their own accord. After some… "Convincing" we were able to reach an agreement that we shared a common enemy; Zeref. We have combined forces in hopes of finally defeating him."

"You're too late," Gray said, "You just missed him."

"We know." Cobra said as he turned his attention not to Gray, but Kinana instead, "We sensed his presence as we made our way here; hell I could hear his voice for crying out loud."

"And we will deal with him when we find him." Jellal said.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

"We intend to kill Zeref," said Midnight, "to end him once and for all and make him pay for what he has done to us."

"Kill him?!" Lucy said in surprise, looking to Jellal aghast.

"Get in line," Gray said, "E.N.D took over Natsu for the sole purpose of doing that. Both of them have some twisted death wish going on."

"And if E.N.D kills Zeref then he dies too." Lucy said, "If E.N.D dies…Natsu dies."

"Jellal…" Erza said as she looked up to man she loved, still leaning on him for support.

"If that is the case Lucy…I can make no promises." Jellal said, shocking Lucy and Gray.

"Tread carefully Jellal." Makarov warned.

"Zeref has brought nothing but pain and suffering to the lives he's touched; he has to die for all that he has done." Jellal said.

"We will try to help Natsu if we can but when it comes down to it, Zeref is my group's primary target."

"You…you make it sound as if Natsu has been lost to us completely." Lucy said.

"So long as he is under E.N.D's control he will be." Mavis said, "But if we can find a way to break his hold over Natsu and prevent from Zeref from interfering, we can save him."

"Even if we have to beat E.N.D out of Natsu," Makarov said, "we will save Natsu."

"Master…" Lucy said.

"We will join you too." A feminine voice said from above.

All present looked to the sky to see a sight that could only be described as miraculous; the dragons who had been in hiding for so long had returned. Weisslogia, Metalicana and Grandeeney carefully descended to the ground below while Skiadrum emerged from the shadow he had casted over the ground. From the feather's on Grandeeney's back emerged Wendy, Carla and Doranbolt, who were helped to the ground by the dragon. Along with the dragons, a familiar air ship also descended from the clouds-landing near the assembled mages.

It was the Christina of the Blue Pegasus guild.

The boarding ramp descended from the air ship as its crew and passengers disembarked. The first to leave were Ichiya and his group but surprisingly, they were not alone.

"I hope you don't mind but we brought a few extra guests to the party. It was on short notice but I was able to scrape together this wonderful lot." Ichiya said as he approached Makarov.

Accompanying Blue Pegasus were mages from Sabretooth, Mermaid Heel and Lamia Scale.

Only Yukino was present on Sabretooth's behalf but she was accompanied by Kagura, Risley and Millianna of Mermaid Heel and Lyon, Jura, Sherry and Chelia of Lamia Scale.

"You didn't think we'd sit out something like this did you?" Lyon asked, speaking on behalf of the assembled force of mages.

"What…what are you all doing here?" Erza asked as she took time to look at each mage.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kagura asked with a sly smile.

"We're here to help you guys out of the mess you got yourselves into." Millianna finished.

"I sent a message to Blue Pegasus an hour before the attack asking if they could help us search for Face once we knew of its location and to contact the other guilds for support. I'm glad to know my words were taken for granted this time around." Makarov said.

"The threat Face posed was a threat against all of us," Jura said, "we weren't going to sit by idly and watch the world go to hell around us."

"We're here to help," Lyon said, "whether this be a private fight or not."

"Thank you…all of you." Makarov said, "I'll bring you all up to speed on what's happened over the last few hours."

While Makarov spoke the assembled force of mages, the dragons were in a conversation of their own.

After Grandeeney had ushered Wendy off to the others-despite a series of protests from the young girl-she had turned her attention to her fellow dragon and old comrade, Igneel.

"Look at you," Grandeeney scolded as she conjured up her healing magic, "you're an utter mess, honestly."

"You don't sound surprised." Igneel grimaced as he felt his wounds heal and bones reset.

"You're always getting into trouble so I'm really not." Grandeeney said, "You damn idiot."

"Acnologia was stronger than I anticipated." Igneel said, "Had it not been for him focusing his attention on Natsu, I'm sure I'd be dead already."

"What's the matter fire brain," Metalicana cackled, "getting senile in your old age?"

"Bite me copper head, I'd like to see you fare any better." Igneel hissed.

"Speaking of your child," Weisslogia said, "what do you intend to do about him now? I felt the disturbance E.N.D created when he awoke and latched onto your son."

Igneel frowned and averted his eyes. It was obvious that he was ashamed at the fact that he had been unable to protect Natsu, no matter how hard he had tried.

"We will not last long in a full scale fight." Skiadrum said, "We only have limited magic and strength left now that the antibodies for our children have been made."

"We have to try." Igneel said, "We have to find some way to weaken E.N.D or break his connection to Zeref."

"Are you suggesting we take on Zeref himself?" Grandeeney asked.

"No, it would be a bloodbath…especially since he would use everything he has against us now that he is focused on dying."

"And like we'd do any better against E.N.D." Metalicana added.

"E.N.D we can handle." Igneel said, "We fought him before and we must fight him again. Both to defeat him and for Natsu's sake…it is the only way that we can manage a chance of freeing him."

The dragons were quiet as they mulled over the words they knew to be true. As Grandeeney's magic finished healing Igneel's wounds, the fire king chose to speak again.

"We are all on borrowed time…but I'll be damned if I lose my son to that bastard." Igneel said.

"And don't tell me you wouldn't do the same for your children. We owe them this much."

"…He's right," Skiadrum said after a pause, "…if this our last stand…I want to make it count for something."

"I agree with Skiadrum." Weisslogia said, "I may be old but I still got some fight left in me. And this has been a fight I have been waiting a long time for."

"You idiots, talking about running headlong into certain death like we're the heroes of some episodic story," Grandeeney said as she rolled her eyes…before smiling gently, "I'm game."

Metalicana for his part sighed deeply and shook his head.

"This sounds like a run of the mill suicide mission. Even at half strength, E.N.D easily outclasses us. You'd half to be a complete fool to take on a threat like him." The iron dragon said before cracking his trademark grin, "Count me in."

"Thank you," Igneel said, "Grandeeney, Metalicana, Skiadrum and Weisslogia. Thank you."

"Now all we need to do is find Zeref and E.N.D." Grandeeney said.

"We won't have to look far," Igneel said, "you can sense them can't you…that chill in the air, that creeping dread at the edge of your senses? All we have to do is follow it and we'll find out quarry."

"And our final battle will begin." Skiadrum added.

"Indeed…" Igneel said, "Let's tell the humans that we know where to go and that they should follow us in. We'll engage E.N.D and Zeref until they arrive in force. From there…we play the cards we've been dealt."

Metalicana let out audible sigh accompanied by groan.

"What are you whining about now?" Weisslogia asked.

"Something tells me," Metalicana sighed, "that this is going to suck."

XXXX

"You want me to what?" Zeref asked as he looked down upon the demon from his perch on a rocky outcropping.

"**You heard me,"** E.N.D said as he cracked his neck and stretched his arms across his chest, _**"fight me."**_

"Why on Earthland do you want me to do that?" Zeref replied as E.N.D stretched his wings.

"**Simple,"** E.N.D said, **"I want to make killing you worth my wile."**

"Pardon?" Zeref asked.

"**I've been cooped up for who knows how long and I just got this body back from the brat and my other half. I want savor the thrill of the ultimate kill. I want us to earn our death, not simply end it right here, right now." **E.N.D said as he looked up to Zeref, his eyes narrowing in glee as the edges of the maw turned up in a perceived psychotic grin.

Zeref sighed deeply and crossed his arms.

"You're really going to force me to do this aren't you?" the dark mage asked while the demon chuckled, raising his right hand which had shifted into a fearsome claw.

"**I will kill you or you will kill me,"** the demon said with a shrug of his shoulders, **"it makes no difference either way."**

"…Very well then." Zeref said and without missing a beat, E.N.D's hand snapped out to blast the rock on which Zeref stood with a blazing stream of fire.

The rock exploded in large chunks of molten rock and smoking bits. Zeref however had leapt away from his perch at the last second, sliding down the rock face so that he and E.N.D were on even ground. The dark mage raised his left hand as dark, shadow like magic swirled around the limb.

"Death Magic," Zeref said, "Death Wave."

The shadow spread out from Zeref like its name implied but E.N.D made no move to dodge the attack, opting to take the brunt of it head on. The wave of death energy easily sucked the life out of everything it touched but when it touched E.N.D, the results were on the more…gruesome side of things.

Instantly, as if he had been struck by a caustic, shredding force of wind, E.N.D's skin and armor were blasted off his body revealing the muscle, sinew and bone that lay beneath. Lava instantly spilled from the wounds, scorching the ground as E.N.D stumbled back. But the nightmarish display didn't last long, however. Steam instantly rose from E.N.D's body and soon enough his skin and armor had regenerated just as quickly as it had been stripped away.

"**I forgot how caustic that spell can be."** E.N.D said as his eyes reformed in their sockets before they narrowed in a sinister manner.

"**My turn."** E.N.D said as his mouth opened as he lurched his head back, sucking in a large amount of air as he did so. He then tossed his head forward as a brilliant jet of flame was fired from the maw.

The fire blast struck Zeref as the dark mage quickly back peddled from the attack. His clothes were slightly singed but other than that, he was relatively unscathed.

"It's funny," Zeref said as he dusted some soot from his shoulder, "my heart yearns for death but my body reacts on instinct to move away from danger."

"**Ironic."** E.N.D said before tapping his boot on the ground with enough force to propel a chunk of rock up from the ground. His arm snapped out just as quickly to deliver a straight punch to the rock and fire it at Zeref.

Zeref deflected the attack with his magic only to see E.N.D come charging in low to the ground, arm blades extended. Zeref moved back to put some distance between him and E.N.D and moved backwards just in time to dodge a series of swift slashes from E.N.D's arm blades. Hopping onto a vine covered mound of stones, Zeref quickly summoned his Death Orb and fired it at E.N.D. Once again, the demon took the attack head on and found his body blasted to pieces but not before he fired the blade out of his arm at Zeref.

The spike reached Zeref before the mage could dodge but it only managed to cut deeply into his cheek and sever a few strands of hair.

As E.N.D's body pulled itself back together, a wide eyed Zeref slowly raised his hands to his cheek and touched the cut there. He winced at the contact and pulled his fingers away to gasp at the sight of crimson covering his fingertips.

"Blood…" Zeref whispered as he rubbed his thumb and fingers together, smearing the blood.

"My blood," Zeref said as a twisted smile formed on his lips, "it's been a long time since I've seen my blood."

"**Funny,"** E.N.D said as he popped his neck back in place, **"I was expecting dust to leak out of you instead."**

"**I am curios though,"** E.N.D said, **"why, out of all places, did you choose here to die? Why not just go someplace out of reach from both the humans and dragons? They're bound to catch onto us soon."**

Zeref sighed and smiled a small smile.

"Many years ago…I met a girl by the name of Mavis Vermillion at this spot. I found her to be a quirky but endearing girl who was…special. She had a certain aura to her, a magic I had not seen before…and you could say that I became fond of her…in a way." Zeref said before he smiled as he appeared to reminisce over a memory.

"She would later go on to form a certain magic guild; a guild whose destiny seems to be intertwined with ours."

"**Those humans back there."** E.N.D said.

"Yes…Fairy Tail." Zeref said, "I figured that it would be somewhat fitting for me to die in a place that I am familiar with…a poetic take on coming full circle, in a sense."

"**Whatever helps you sleep."** E.N.D said as he prepared a new attack. He held up his middle and index fingers and his thumb in an "L" shape before making a circular motion in the air in front of him. A series of glyphs made from fire formed a ring that hovered mid-air as E.N.D extended his index finger at Zeref. The center of the ring was filled in by a glyph that burned brightly before a blazing blast of fire was fired in a vortex like attack.

Even as the vortex engulfed Zeref, E.N.D flicked his finger and cycled to a new glyph which fired multiple tendrils of fire that soared into air, zig-zaged forward or burrowed in and out of the ground. The tendrils all met up at the inferno where Zeref stood before the combined attacks created a tremendous explosion of flame that shook the ground and made the air sizzle and pop.

Not finished quite just yet, E.N.D cycled to the final rune. The ring instantly faded away while the glyph remained. It then moved back and imbedded itself into the top of E.N.D's hand before glowing fiercely. E.N.D fully extended his hand, curled his fingers and then snapping his hand up. The fire that had engulfed Zeref then began to swirl in a circular manner before spiraling up into the air. E.N.D then pumped his arm down once. The fire tumbled down and impacted the ground, creating another blast of fire that spread out in all directions-igniting both rock and vegetation on fire.

But the fire didn't last long and only a thick haze of smoke filled the area.

E.N.D flapped his wings three times and quickly dispelled the smoke. He now saw a crater before him where the ground had been turned to glass from the firestorm. Steam radiated off the glass and in the center of it, Zeref lay in a heap. Grunting, E.N.D walked up to the crater and stepped into it, his boots cracking the ground beneath his feet as he approached Zeref. To the demons surprise, Zeref once again appeared to be relatively unscathed. His clothes were burnt and torn while portions of his skin were covered in a thick layer of soot…but other than that, the dark mage was otherwise fine.

"**You're a tough son of a bitch I'll give you that much."** E.N.D said.

Zeref let out a series of coughs and rolled over, giving E.N.D a sardonic smile.

"I use death magic," Zeref said, "after four hundred years it's made me a bit hard to kill."

E.N.D sighed and proceeded to lift Zeref up by the neck.

"Have you had enough?" Zeref rasped as E.N.D let out a disappointed sigh.

"**Killjoy."** E.N.D said as he raised his right arm, arm blade extended.

The two silently regarded each other for a minute before E.N.D slowly pulled his arm back, aiming his blade at Zeref's heart.

"**It'll be quick,"** E.N.D said, **"and we both will be embraced by oblivion."**

Zeref closed his eyes and let a small, relieved smile form on his lips.

"_At long last…"_ Zeref thought on relief.

E.N.D closed his fingers into a fist, pulled his arm slightly further back…and was blasted away from Zeref when a shadow shot forth from the ground and hit E.N.D in the chest, knocking Zeref from his grip and sending him careening back. Knocked to the ground, Zeref could only wonder what had just happened when another shadow struck him and tossed him into the nearby brush.

Pulling himself out of the rock face he had been smashed into, E.N.D watched as Skiadrum materialized half of his body out of the ground.

E.N.D growled deeply while Skiadrum smirked.

"**You shouldn't have interfered dragon."** E.N.D hissed.

"I'd apologize for doing so but that would mean I'd be lying through my teeth." Skiadrum said before sharply ducking down just as the tree's behind him were blasted to pieces.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!" Metalicana bellowed as his signature attack soared over Skiadrum and blasted E.N.D upward through the rock face and into the air.

Before the demon could regain his bearings, Grandeeney-who had been circling high above E.N.D and Zeref's duel in waiting-swooped in and struck E.N.D full force with her one wing, pummeling E.N.D back to earth and into a rocky plain on the outskirts of the forest and Magnolia town.

For a minute, E.N.D lay absolutely still in the crater his fall had created, before he slowly began to push himself up; muttering explicative after explicative under his breath. He then proceeded to pop both of his arms back into their sockets before realigning his neck and spine. With the assistance of his wings, E.N.D pushed himself back to his feet.

"E.N.D!" Igneel's voice boomed as he landed a few yards away from the demon as the other dragons quickly appeared and formed a perimeter around E.N.D.

E.N.D spat a wad of lava out from his maw and glared at the fire dragon.

"**You."** E.N.D hissed, **"I should've known you and the rest of your overgrown lizards would interfere with me and my master."**

"I won't let your death result in Natsu's," Igneel said, "even if I have to beat you into the submission, you will not take my son from me."

"**Because you did such a splendid job the first time around."** E.N.D taunted, **"You failed to kill me before dragon; what makes you think you can stop me now?"**

"I'm not alone this time." Igneel said as the other dragon's let out a collective hiss.

"And it's not just us," Igneel continued, "the friends of my son are on their way to this spot as we speak. They will not let you take Natsu from them as well."

E.N.D's brow furrowed as he let out an irritated and angered growl.

"E.N.D." Zeref said as he suddenly appeared next to the demon, "Let us go elsewhere…these dragons will only hinder our endgame if we linger here."

"**And they will follow us if we leave." **E.N.D said, **"No Lord Zeref, this ends here. I've been out only for an hour and I'm already sick of these lizards."**

"Then allow me to dispatch them. I can kill these meddlesome dragons with ease." Zeref said and made to conjure his magic but E.N.D raised his extended his hand out the side, barring Zeref from making his move.

"**No,"** E.N.D said, "**I will handle these dragons and those annoying humans. I warned them not to interfere…now it is time they learn the consequences for not heeding my warning."**

Zeref cast an annoyed look at E.N.D to which the demon gave a pointed look of his own.

"**You've been around for four hundred years,"** E.N.D said, "**I'm sure a few more minutes won't kill you…that's my job after all."**

Zeref closed his eyes in resignation and sighed.

"…I'll be watching." Zeref said before disappearing once again like smoke in the wind.

"**Enjoy the show."** E.N.D replied as steam radiated off his body while the demon cracked his neck.

The armor that already covered E.N.D's exposed body began to expand and conform even further until his arms, neck, back, chest and torso were completely covered in the brushed black armor. E.N.D's hair-which was still Natsu's salmon pink-instantly darkened till it had turned black as well and the tattoo's which hovered over his shoulders engraved themselves into the armor. A series of cracks formed in the armor on E.N.D's forearms and glowed fiery red as E.N.D flexed his fingers.

His transformation was now complete.

"**So…"** E.N.D said, **"Who's ready to die?"**

And with that, the dragon's attacked.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Igneel said as he breathed out a jet of flame while Grandeeney and Metalicana fired off their own signature roar's and combined them with Igneel's.

E.N.D countered by inhaling deeply and firing off a jet of flame of his own.

The two attacks met halfway stalled against each other as both sides pushed against the other.

As the demon and the three dragons clashed in a battle of wills, Weisslogia and Skiadrum charged E.N.D while he was distracted. Summoning their magic around their claws, the dragons created a series of thin beams of light and shadow and bypassed E.N.D, allowing the beams to pierce the demon in a manner similar to the "White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk" spell Sting and Rogue used.

Wounded, E.N.D could not focus on the combined dragon's roar and his attack was subsequently blasted away…along with his head and shoulders.

But even as his body fell to its knees, E.N.D suddenly latched onto the beams of light and shadow that were still stuck in his body before crossing his arms sharply. While his head and shoulders regenerated, E.N.D stood and pivoted on his foot before yanking Skiadrum and Weisslogia back to him with inhuman strength.

Strength that could only be possessed by a demon.

The two dragons were startled by the attack and quickly dispelled the light and shadow. But they were already in range of E.N.D who sprang at the duo with blinding speed and delivered a down roundhouse kick to Weisslogia's head before spinning around to Skiadrum and hitting him with a spinning elbow strike. With Skiadrum stunned, E.N.D swooped in low and up to deliver a fierce uppercut to the dragon.

"Hang on you two," Metalicana said as flew into the air to meet E.N.D, "I got him!"

E.N.D's head snapped to the side just in time to see Metalicana strike him down to the ground with a powered punch from his claw. Even as the demon plummeted, the iron dragon did not let up in his attacks as he delivered one punch after another, pushing E.N.D further and further into the earth.

His fist was suddenly stopped and he felt a sharp pain in his middle talon. As the dust cleared, he soon saw the reason why; E.N.D had singlehandedly caught his claw with his hand-his fingers having pierced his armored skin and holding him in place.

With surprising ease, E.N.D moved the dragon's claw to the side as his eyes began to glow a fierce red as cracks formed in the skin surrounding the eyes.

"Oh shit!" Metalicana said in alarm.

With a high pitched cry, E.N.D once again fired his optical laser. The energy beam struck Metalicana in his upper chest that he was dislodged from E.N.D. Before he could even so much as cry out in pain, E.N.D fired another blast which in a shower of sparks and blood, cut through Metalicana's shoulder. The demon then proceeded to hop into the air in front of the keeling dragon and double kicked him onto his back.

Landing, E.N.D cracked his knuckles and grinned his terrible grin when he turned his attention to Grandeeney and Igneel.

"You bastard!" Igneel roared and charged E.N.D.

"Igneel wait!" Grandeeney called out but her fellow dragon didn't hear her. He was too focused on attacking E.N.D.

E.N.D broke out into a run of his own and performed a power slide beneath Igneel when he got into range. He then flipped onto his back and kicked both of his feet up, striking Igneel in his abdomen and sending up into the air.

But Igneel took the brunt of the attack and even as he was propelled upwards, he countered with an attack of his own.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Igneel bellowed and cast a stream of fire down onto E.N.D.

E.N.D quickly extended his wings and flapped them once, propelling him into the air. He then cocked his fist back and punched the fire, instantly causing it to burst. But Igneel, having recovered from the previous hit, had been expecting this.

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" Igneel said as his wings burst into flame while he dropped down to E.N.D. He sharply banked right and stuck E.N.D with his left wing who blocked the attack with his forearm, only to have it incinerated.

"I'm not finished just yet!" Igneel snarled, "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

Igneel balled his right front claw into a fist and lashed out at E.N.D who blocked with his other arm. But it didn't make much of a difference. The arm and his chest cavity were shattered on contact and E.N.D plummeted back down. His wings flared at the last second, serving as air brakes and slowing his fall so that he could hover midair.

"**You know,"** E.N.D said as his arm and chest healed themselves, **"I remember you hitting a lot harder than that. What's the matter Fire King, getting complacent in your old age?"**

"Well," Igneel sneered, "when you've been asleep as long as I have, shit happens."

E.N.D cackled at hearing this, his maw opening but not moving with his voice.

"**Indeed it does!"** E.N.D said, **"And unfortunately for you, it's about to get worse!"**

E.N.D snapped his hand up, palm out as a series of runes appeared on his forearm. The runes glowed as flames of dark purple manifested on his arm.

"**Take this!"** E.N.D said and casted the fire from his arm. The dark fire raced at Igneel who once again took to the air in order to avoid the attack. To his shock, the fire followed him into the air, its movement's wild yet snake like in appearance.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Igneel bellowed and countered the fire with his own. To his horror, the purple fire easily pushed through his own and rapidly raced towards him.

But before the attack could strike, Igneel found himself knocked to the side when Grandeeney appeared next to him, body checking him out of harm's way…and taking Igneel's place as the target for E.N.D's attack.

"Grandeeney!" Igneel called out as the fire struck the female dragon, making her scream out in pain as she plummeted to the ground below. Her feathers and wings were singed and burnt and her body twitched in pain.

"**That was a ballsy move,"** E.N.D said as he turned his attention from Igneel to Grandeeney, **"you've got guts, I'll give you that."**

E.N.D then extended his arm blade in a slow, menacing manner.

"**Unfortunately for you, I'm about to rip 'em out."** The demon sneered.

"Do what you will," Grandeeney said as she weakly raised her head, "I do not fear death."

E.N.D chuckled darkly as he began to walk to Grandeeney.

"**You should be afraid…very afraid."** E.N.D said.

"Natsu no!" A voice called before a sudden gust of wind forced E.N.D to stumble back.

Following the voice, E.N.D watched as a young girl with short blue hair and a tattered dressed descended from the sky with the aid of white cat with wings. She landed in front of Grandeeney, her arms extended out and a desperate, pleading look on her face.

"Wendy!?" Grandeeney said in surprise.

"Natsu stop," Wendy pleaded as the demon glared at girl, "I know there's something wrong with you right now but you have to fight it! You have to come back to the light; please, I know you can hear me!"

"…**Never come between a demon and its prey girl,"** E.N.D hissed, **"Unless you want to join the body count."**

"Natsu…please…" Wendy pleaded.

"**Move or die."** E.N.D said as he raised his arm blade in warning. Swallowing hard, Wendy stood defiant to the demon.

"I won't let you hurt her," Wendy said, "I won't let you my mother; I won't let you hurt Grandeeney!"

"**So you're the lizard's brat now are you?"** E.N.D said in sadistic glee, **"Oh, I am going to enjoy this."**

He then began to march forward, his knuckles cracking as he flexed his fingers.

"Wendy move!" Grandeeney said, her tone desperate, "He'll kill you, don't waste your life for my sake!"

"No," Wendy said, "I'm not leaving you Grandeeney, not when I've just gotten you back."

With those words, Wendy inhaled deeply and summoned her magic.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" Wendy yelled as she cast a tunnel of wind at E.N.D.

The attack struck the demon and tore up the rocky ground around him as he faltered in his step. His wings snapped out and stabbed the ground, holding him in place as he began to grind his boots into the rock. He then raised his foot and transformed it into a fierce looking talon before stomping down. He did the same to his other foot and in conjunction with his wings pulled and stomped his way forward.

Wendy's eyes widened in shock when she saw this and put more force and power in her attack, the wail of the wind nearly drowning out her scream.

More rock was torn up from the ground but the demon pressed on, undeterred.

Wendy's knees began to shake as she felt her lungs running out of air. No matter how much force she put into her attack, it wasn't stopping the demon. The wind ceased as she fell to her knee's panting for breathe as she watched E.N.D fix his feet and continue to stalk forward.

"**You finished?"** E.N.D said as he raised the arm blade to be level with Wendy's neck.

"Wendy!" Grandeeney cried out as the girl let out a frightened whimper.

"N-Natsu…please…don't…" Wendy pleaded.

E.N.D only grinned his twisted grin and pulled his arm back to strike. He was stopped however, when an unexpected savior came to Wendy's aid…in the form an elderly woman with pink hair delivering a high kick to the side of E.N.D's head which sent said demon toppling end over end.

Porlyusica slid to a halt as she discarded her cape to reveal the blouse and skirt she wore beneath. She raised her one hand extended out in a combative stance as she glared at the demon.

"Don't you dare think of laying a finger on her." Porlyusica warned, "Possessed or not boy, no one threatens or hurts Wendy and gets away with it so long as I'm around."

"**Ah…"** E.N.D said in amusement as he rose back up, "**unless my eyes deceive me, I'm seeing not one but two Grandeeney's in front of me. Only this new one packs more bite than the other one."**

"You…" Grandeeney said as Porlyusica frowned slightly.

"It's nice to finally meet you," the aging medic said, "I wish it were under…better circumstances."

E.N.D suddenly bolted forward and Porlyusica took a defensive stance, ducking under E.N.D's straight punch and leaping up with a horizontal knee strike to E.N.D's jaw. She then back flipped, pivoted on her heel and struck E.N.D with a diagonal kick before following up with two snap punches and an open palm strike.

"I may be old," Porlyusica said, "but that doesn't mean I can't kick your ass."

E.N.D let out an amused cackle and began to disappear in a flurry of embers. Porlyusica began to look around in a cautious manner as she tried to guess where E.N.D would appear.

"Behind you!" Wendy cried out.

Porlyusica ducked just in time to only have a few strands of her hair cut off from her hair bun. Rolling away, Porlyusica watched as E.N.D's body reformed as the embers solidified. E.N.D snapped out his other hand with a hammerfist and punched through the ground as Porlyusica flipped back. E.N.D raced forward and did not let up on his attacks as Porlyusica dodged, blocked and parried E.N.D's strikes.

The fight was stopped when E.N.D was punched away from Porlyusica when Racer appeared onto the battlefield in a blur of motion and delivered a punishing right hook to E.N.D. Before the demon could recover, Racer used his Slowing Magic to strike E.N.D again and again.

"**Would***punch***kindly***punch*," E.N.D said as he was socked in the face, before lashing out with his claw, **"Piss off!"**

"What's the matter demon of Zeref," Racer asked as he came to a stop, "not so tough now that you're the one getting hit?"

"**Bite me."** E.N.D spat out.

"No thanks." Racer said with a smirk and sprinted forward again, striking E.N.D and making him growl in annoyance. Racer in turn spun around and darted back to E.N.D and raised his fist to strike. However at the last second, E.N.D sidestepped and snapped his arm out to the side, clotheslining Racer and knocking him down.

Racer gasped as his back hit the ground before crying out in pain when E.N.D planted his boot on his chest. E.N.D growled as he let a ball of fire form around his hand and aimed for Racer's head. Racer on the other hand let a smug smirk form on his lips. Before E.N.D could respond, his arm was cut off at the elbow and Racer was able to roll away to avoid E.N.D's lava blood.

"Porlyusica, get Wendy out of here; we'll handle E.N.D!" A new voice said.

"Got it!" The medic said as she quickly back peddled to the young dragon slayer.

"**The fuck?"** E.N.D asked as he raised up his arm, just as the black ichor reattached the two together.

"Vile creature," Erza said, dressed in her Flight Armor as she landed on the ground, her sword blade dripping with lave, "return Natsu to us this instant or face the wrath of Fairy Tail."

"**This again?"** E.N.D sighed, **"Can't you just give it up already? You're pal is gone; accept it."**

"Never." Erza hissed with a glare.

"**Then I think you know what's coming next?" **E.N.D said before looking over his shoulder, a sadistic grin forming on his maw.

From out of the woods and across the barren ground came the mages of Fairy Tail, Sabretooth, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel.

"**You guys are like cockroaches you know that right?"** E.N.D said, looking back to Erza, **"And I get to kill you all."**

"Go ahead and try." Erza hissed.

"**With pleasure."** E.N.D said as he charged the swordswoman and speed mage.

Despite being low on magic, Erza switched to her Heaven's Wheel Armor while Racer darted forward. To the speed mages surprise, E.N.D leapt over Racer and attacked Erza instead, slamming both his fists onto the ground and causing the ground to shatter and crack.

Erza jumped back and blocked a series of slashes from E.N.D's double arm blades when he darted forward. A series of blocks, parries and strikes ensued as the mage and demon locked blades. The two pushed against one another with E.N.D slowly gaining the upper hand. As strong as Erza was, she had been put through the wringer today and was not up to shape to handle the awakened demon.

"**What's the matter?"** E.N.D said**, "You were just talking tough a minute ago. And now I have you at a standstill."**

"Don't turn your back on me!" Racer called out as he sped for E.N.D.

To both Erza and Racer's horror, E.N.D turned his head all the way around-like an owl-as the bones in his neck made a series of sickening cracks. Grinning like a maniac, E.N.D fired off a laser blast from his eyes and struck the ground at the base of Racers feet, right as he was running forward. Losing his balance, Racer stumbled forward and was met by E.N.D's fist as he broke contact with Erza. The speed mage was sent tumbling back before coming to a stop yards away, unconscious.

Still holding his one arm against Erza, E.N.D turned back to the swordswoman as he raised his hand, readying a ball of flame to attack Erza.

"Get away from her!" Jellal said as he suddenly collided with E.N.D, his meteor spell activated. E.N.D was knocked back from the punch but quickly recovered, his boots sliding against the ground.

"Are you alright?" Jellal asked, inkling his head to Erza. He didn't have to use his sight to know where she was.

"Yes…thank you," Erza said, "Where are the others?"

"They're on the way or taking up attack positions." Erza said, "Makarov told us to keep him busy until he Laxus and Igneel think of something to knock E.N.D down for a bit."

"Easier said than done." Erza bit out as E.N.D raised his hand, a series of runes forming on his arm. A burst of flame formed in his hand to reveal what appeared to be a sawed-off, triple barreled shotgun…or what constituted as a gun considering the thing seemed to be made from a terrible combination of blackened metal, bleach white bone and metal chains that glowed a fiery red.

"**Fire Curse,"** E.N.D said, **"Hell's Scattergun." **

He then pointed the shotgun at Erza and Jellal and pulled the trigger. The gun barked as a tremendous blast of shrapnel, flames and sparks left the muzzle. Jellal and Erza quickly dropped to the ground as the shrapnel blew apart the ground behind them in a burst of flames. Jellal grabbed Erza and used his Meteor spell to put some distance between them and the demon as E.N.D opened fire with reckless abandon.

The flames licked at Jellal's heels as he jumped, ducked and zig-zaged his way across the open ground. But E.N.D didn't let up as he continued to shoot with near pin point accuracy. However, his tolerance for the two mages was quickly growing thin. He pointed the gun into the air and pulled the trigger three, sending the shrapnel into the air.

"**Fire Curse,"** E.N.D said as the shrapnel began to glow fiercely, **"Steel Rain."**

The shrapnel burst apart like fireworks and honed in on Jellal and Erza as they rained down like the curse suggested. The shrapnel burst apart around Jellal and Erza, cutting into them and stopping their evasion. E.N.D took aim once more and fired again, only for Erza to miraculously stand up and deflect the shrapnel with a deft swing of her sword.

E.N.D fired again and Erza deflected attack while Jellal retaliated with his Heavenly Beam spell. E.N.D shot two of the beams out of the air while the other five stuck him and blasted the gun out of his hand. Erza quickly summoned her Blumenblatt spell and lashed out at E.N.D, cutting into him as she sped past the demon. E.N.D fell to his knees as pieces of his armor flew of his body while his blood was spilled in all directions. With E.N.D incapacitated Jellal chose to strike.

"Heavenly Arrows!" Jellal said as he cast the arrows of light at the demon. As the arrows were launched, they quickly hardened and rather than blast E.N.D apart, they nailed him in place. If the demon was affected by the attack, he didn't show it; he continued to growl and glare at Jellal.

"True Heavenly Body Magic," Jellal said as he went through the necessary motions of the summoning the spell, "Sema!"

From within the swirling vortex Jellal had casted above E.N.D, a meteor of tremendous size suddenly appeared and plummeted from within the swirling mass of clouds; directly atop of E.N.D. There was a flash of light, a burst of air and pressure and brilliant explosion as the spell smashed itself down upon the demon.

When the light faded and dust settled, a large impact crater and mass of rubble was all that remained. Slowly rising, Jellal cautiously approached the crater as Erza did the same from her side. Reaching the center-the mass of rubble-the two halted when the rubble began to shake and the mages tensed in anticipation for another attack. From within the rubble, E.N.D's left hand flopped out-a terrible sight of shredded and burnt flesh and bone. Lava began to sizzle and hiss as it leaked from within the cracks of the stone.

"I think," Jellal said with a sigh of relief, "we got him."

Erza lowered her head and closed her eyes, shaking her head.

"Natsu…I'm so sorry…but we had no choice." Erza said.

The rubble suddenly burst apart as two large spikes shot out from within the stone. The attack was so sudden that neither Jellal nor Erza could evade the surprise attack. The spikes skewered them through their right shoulders, making the mages cry out in shock and agony as they were lifted off the ground.

Clutching at the spike that ran through her shoulder, Erza watched in horror as E.N.D slowly rose from like the living dead from a grave. He was torn and bloodied to the point that he barely looked recognizable or passed as human. Panting heavily as the dirt and rock slid away, E.N.D looked at his tattered left arm and proceeded to rip it off and toss it away like it was trash. The discarded limb immediately began to disintegrate while a new one quickly formed in its place. His muscle, skin and armor followed suite and in a matter of seconds, the demon had completely regenerated.

The spikes were now reveled to be E.N.D's wings which he had changed the shape of. His breathing was deep and ragged while his body quivered in unrestrained anger. The spikes bent so that Erza and Jellal hung in front of E.N.D who grabbed them by their throats and pry the spikes out of the mages.

"**That…"** E.N.D hissed, "**Was quite possibly, the stupidest thing you could do to me."**

E.N.D increased the strength of his grip around Jellal and Erza's necks, making them gasp for air.

"**You honestly think your petty spells will have any effect on me? Me!? The strongest of all of Zeref's demons!?"**

E.N.D's maw turned down in deep frown as his eyes narrowed to the point that they were borderline slits; the iris's glowing a blazing red.

"**By the time I'm through with you two, you'll be screaming for death to take you from me."**

"Not today!" A voice said, accompanied by a bolt of lightning said as the bolt struck E.N.D between his shoulder blades.

"That voice," Erza wheezed as she pushed herself off the ground, "Laxus?"

An arc of lightening rapidly spun around E.N.D and the mages before another bolt lashed out and struck E.N.D in the eyes, making the demon clutch at the two organs as he stumbled back, raging in pain and uttering one profanity laced curse after the other.

Laxus quickly appeared from within the lightening, bandaged and breathing heavily.

"Laxus!" Erza said as the dragon slayer bent down and picked Jellal and Erza off the ground.

"We need to leave," Laxus said, "now!"

Before the two knew it, Laxus was carrying them along as he used his lightening magic to bolt across the ground and back to the other mages. He came to a stop atop a low rise in the ground, right next to Makarov.

"Got 'em." Laxus said as he sat down, panting heavily.

"Rest up now Laxus," Makarov, "you've done enough for now. The same goes for you two. Laxus, you're still sick and Erza, you and Jellal have serious injuries. See Porlyusica and Wendy now."

"W-what…" Erza said as she winced in pain, clutching her shoulder. Jellal ignored his own pain and moved to hold her hand.

"What about Natsu?" Erza asked as she looked back to small crater, hundreds of yards away.

"Leave him to me," Makarov said, "Igneel the Fire King and I have thought of an attack that should keep E.N.D down for the time being…now get going."

Reluctantly, the two mages complied and Makarov took a calming breath and looked to the sky.

"Skiadrum and Weisslogia recovered from their attacks and were able to grab Metalicana and Grandeeney. Everyone else is at a safe distance and ready." Mavis said as she walked up to Makarov, taking Laxus by surprise, "Are you sure about this?"

"There is no other choice. For Natsu's sake, in order to help him…we must hurt E.N.D to the point where he will be unable to fight us." Makarov said in resignation.

"If you feel that this the only option…then do what you must." Mavis said.

Makarov gave a solemn nod and then brought his hands up before him.

"This has been a dark day for all of us," Makarov spoke up, his voice echoing out across the silent plain, "we have lost much and suffered greatly at the hands of the Tartarus demons. And now, one of our own, has been turned against us…by the darkness we pledged to fight. E.N.D…spawn of Zeref and demon lord of Tartarus, you are indeed powerful…but this fight in which our blood and the blood of the young man you corrupted has been spilled, has come to an end. In order to vanquish you back to the darkness from which you were born and to return Natsu Dragneel to the light, I cast upon you the spell of judgment that is only reserved for an enemy such as you."

A ball of glowing light formed between Makarov's hands which grew brighter and brighter with each passing second.

"I cast upon you…" Makarov said as he clasped his hands together, causing the orb of light to condense and radiate in all directions.

Meanwhile-at that exact same moment- E.N.D's eyes had regenerated only to be treated to the sight of a circle and beams of light forming beneath his feet.

"**Oh hell, now what?"** E.N.D said.

"…Fairy Law!" Makarov said as the tolling of a bell was sounded while a ring of light-with the Fairy Tail emblem shining brightly in it-appeared above E.N.D. It then shrank in on itself and burst in a light more brilliant than a thousand suns combined.

XXXX

Lucy anxiously watched as Makarov cast the most powerful spell in the Fairy Tail arsenal. With trepidation, she watched past her arms as she shielded her eyes from the piercing light as it attacked the demon that had possessed Natsu.

"Fire King," Lucy heard Makarov call out, "now; strike now!"

From the sky above, a soft fiery glow burned through the clouds before they were split apart by a tremendous jet of flame.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Igneel bellowed from on high as he combined his fire with Fairy Law.

The glow of Fairy law increased with the added fire and the ground shuddered slightly beneath the feet of the mages.

"Lucy," Happy spoke up as he gently held to Lucy's leg, "is Natsu going to be okay? Is the monster in him gone now?"

As the light faded away and the wind subsided, Lucy gently picked the cat up, holding him close in a comforting manner.

"I don't know Happy." Lucy said, her tone uncertain, "I don't know."

"_Please…"_ Lucy thought, _"Please, let Natsu be alright…let him come back to us…"_

Squinting and covering her brow from the sunlight, Lucy focused on the spot where E.N.D had been. The ground was smooth but scorched and the heat shimmered in the air. And then she saw him…E.N.D.

"Oh no." Lucy whispered as her eyes began to widen.

E.N.D's body lay in a charred and broken heap. He looked like a charbroiled briquette that had been burned beyond recognition.

"Lucy…" Happy said as his voice cracked while tears threatened to spill from his eyes, "Is he…is he…is Natsu…"

But Lucy didn't answer. She could only stare in mute shock.

"Alright everyone." Makarov called out, his tine solemn but firm, "I want you all to form a perimeter around E.N.D. From there we will work on a binding spell that should-"

"**You think me defeated?"** A menacing and frighteningly familiar voice whispered in the wind.

A terrible chill filled the air as the wind suddenly picked up. Lucy's gaze snapped back to E.N.D's body which was slowly levitating off the ground. His body shook, twisted and audibly reassembled itself. His armor, skin and muscle began to stitch itself back together.

E.N.D was regenerating.

Despite the combined power of Fairy Law and Igneel the Fire King, E.N.D had survived the onslaught. And from the sound of his voice…he was livid.

With his body repaired, E.N.D found his boots back on the ground and his eyes focusing onto the humans. Eyes which had now turned blacker than night and dark magic smoking out of the sockets. E.N.D's killing aura began to radiate off of him and despite the distance, every mage and dragon present could feel the fury and malice that E.N.D was projecting.

"**You shouldn't have done that."** E.N.D said, **"Now…it's time to die."**

E.N.D raised his hand into the air as a series of runes appeared in the armor; carving themselves out of the skin and glowing a fierce blue. E.N.D then began to speak in an ancient tongue that had long since been forgotten; an incantation lost to time.

A quadruple layered series of rune and glyph filled circles appeared above his hand as he closed it into a fist. E.N.D bent his elbow, fist poised to strike and then proceeded to smash it down onto the ground.

The ground shuddered violently, knocking many off their feet and the ground bulged up beneath E.N.D's feet. A blast of compressed air radiated out from the impact and for a single moment, there was not sound.

All was quiet.

Then the ground split apart as fissures tore through the ground while large chunks of rock were upturned and forced from the ground. Then the ground began to collapse inwards as dust plumed up into the sky. Many of the mages found themselves tumbling down into the collapsing earth, only to be rescued at the last second by the ones who had quickly regained her senses.

Lucy for her part found herself up in the air thanks to Happy and his ability to fly. As the frightened exceed rapidly flapped his wings, Lucy felt her hands move to cover her mouth as a strangled gasp parted her lips.

From her vantage point, the ground looked like it had just been ripped apart by a bomb of immeasurable strength. The spirit mage could also see the others scramble to help one another while the dragons worked to dig themselves out of the earth.

"Oh…God…" Lucy choked out, "Oh…God…why…"

The dust at the center of the crater suddenly parted as E.N.D took the sky, faster than she had seen him before; his right hand still glowing with the four circles. Following the demon, Lucy watched in horror, as she saw his target…

Igneel.

The demon was moving too fast for the dragon to defend himself against. There was no stopping what was coming next.

E.N.D swept his wings back, increasing his speed as he cocked his fist back, and Igneel was locked into his sights. The demon slammed his fist into the dragon's midsection and for a split second, Igneel was still as his eyes widened in shock.

And then his left side along with his upper and lower torso, were ripped in half. Igneel's mouth opened in a silent cry of agony as his eyes rolled up into his head while he fell to the ground below.

"IGNEEL!" Lucy and Happy screamed in horror as the dragon hit the ground; his body cratering the ground beneath him.

Happy instantly flew down to meet the fallen dragon. Lucy felt tears streaming down her eyes as she felt Happy let her go when they reached the ground.

Igneel.

The dragon-the father-Natsu had been searching for, for so long now lay in an unmoving heap.

He had been brought down by the demon he failed to destroy all those ages ago.

He had been brought down by the demon that had possessed his son.

That had possessed Natsu.

It was a terrible thought that made Lucy burst into tears as she ran forth to the dragon.

Igneel couldn't die now. Not when Natsu was still in danger; not when his son needed him most.

"**I don't think so." **E.N.D's voice suddenly hissed and Lucy was startled to a stop when the demon materialized before her in cluster of burning embers. With two simple strides, E.N.D was before Lucy and had grabbed her by the neck, lifting her up and off the ground in the process.

"Lucy!" Happy cried out in panic.

E.N.D narrowed his eyes-eyes which had now turned back to their demonic black and red-as he let out a low growl.

"N-Natsu," Lucy gasped as she clutched at E.N.D's wrist with both her hands, "I-I know you're in there! I know you can hear me."

E.N.D tightened his grip on Lucy's neck.

"P-Please…f-fight h-him," Lucy pleaded, "P-Please…fight E.N.D!"

A searing white hot pain suddenly flooded her abdomen. It was a pain so intense that it instantly caused her to scream out in pain. Her legs began to tremble and kick while something warm and wet filled her mouth and spilled past her lips.

Something that tasted like copper.

Her eyes slowly moving down, Lucy saw what the warm liquid was.

It was blood…her blood.

And in her abdomen, E.N.D had pierced her through with his arm blade; his knuckles now covered in blood. E.N.D then swiftly twisted and ripped the blade from Lucy, causing her to cough up more blood and cry out in pain as E.N.D let her go and fall to the ground.

Falling in a heap and clutching at her bleeding abdomen, Lucy looked up at E.N.D through tear filled eyes.

"N-Na…Na…Natsu…" Lucy whispered.

E.N.D only growled and turned on his heel, his arm blade retracing back into his forearm.

"**Stupid girl."** And with those words, E.N.D flared his wings, took off into the air…and left Lucy to her fate.

XXXX

A/N: …Okay…so, yeah that happened. Dear lord, what have I done this time!?

Okay everyone, this took me a lot longer to crank out than I would have liked. I hope this chapter wasn't too "all over the place" because I know there was a lot going on it. But, I'm happy with how things turned out for this chapter…may yall have mercy on me.

And yes, the chapter title was a little misleading but I digress.

Okay, so here's what's going on. Next week I'll be heading back to college. I have a whole new set of classes for this semester so I'm not sure what the work load is going to be like. I'll still be writing but as to when I can update…I don't know. For now, expect me to keep it at the usual two week interval that I've been doing for all my other works. If I can stuff posted early, I will. Until then, I hope you guys will bear with me and be patient with this story like you have before. That's all that I ask.

The next story to be updated will be Vendetta and after that Kids: Knight's Tale…so there's some stuff to look forward too!

Next time; CHAPTER 4: Time of Dying

As per usual, if you guys have any comments or questions, please put it in your review and I'll make sure to respond to you in the next chapter. If you have anything else that you wish to ask me or clarify, you can PM me and I'll do my best to respond ASAP.

Until next time; read, review, happy reading and most importantly, HAPPY READING!


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